Still waiting for baby.

Doing things that I thought I wouldn't have time for before baby. Like setting up my seed-starting stand. Which is a jungle gym until I start my first seeds next week.

Hannah used all of the pieces to make many unique designs for a few days before I set it up. I kept going in to set it up and as soon as I got started, she'd get inspiration and have to make a new design.



Finally we got it put together.



And it was a glorious house.





Until Ainsley realized she could climb over it.







Other activities for the last few days:

Reading - lots of reading.



Coloring.





Puzzles.



Dancing and playing a knitting needle violin.



Playing on the My Little Pony website.



Counting pennies.



And I was able to take all of my loose recipes from this -



to this -



The three black binders are recipes I've pulled from various places to try. When I make my monthly menu plan, I pull the recipes out from either those binders or my yellow "tried and true" recipe binder and put them in the clear folder to use that month. If the new recipes pass muster, they get transferred to the yellow binder. If they don't they get trashed. Much nicer having them in the black binders now instead of just messy piles.

Candy galore.

When we were little, my mom had a Valentine's Day tradition - make graham cracker houses. Now my mom came alive at holidays. Traditions were her "thing". So for almost a month in December, and a day here and there throughout the year, my mom was a great mom. These are the moments I remember and these are the traditions I hold on to - even if some of them make me a little bit queasy now.

Like graham cracker houses held together with frosting and decorated with twenty different kinds of candy. Yes, my mother went overboard, so I feel bound to do the same.

First we made the boards that the houses sat on.



Then Hannah and I set everything out while Ainsley taste-tested.





Then the decorating started.





Growing up, we were not given candy free-choice except for this one big splash. (At Halloween, candy was put in bags and stored in my mom's bedroom. Funny, we never saw more than a few pieces of it after that... ) As kids, our houses were not so much works of art as works of gluttony. You learned to make your house as big and stable as possible with a roof that could be stealthily removed and replaced without notice. This way you could fill the house full of candy that Mom wouldn't know was there. Then, instead of designing a beautiful house, you put as much candy on it as possible. You made a garden chock full of candy. Because these houses sat on the table for days and you were allowed to eat off of them. Apparently, my mom didn't like frosting covered candy, so these houses were safe.

While Ainsley does not have the same candy issues I had growing up, she does have a healthy does of toddler-itis and absolutely loved pushing the candy into the frosting and watching in amazement as it didn't fall off. Her house fell down not long after this picture from an excess of candy.



Hannah's completed house. Note the beans (jelly) and corn (candy) in her garden.



Ainsley kept decorating long after the rest of us had quit.



I thought it would be torture to do these houses since I've been on a no-sugar diet for the last few months of this pregnancy, but apparently I've lost the desire for pure sugar or sugar mixed with wax and flavoring. It just wasn't appealing to me. Since I've been off sugar, Hannah's kept close tabs on my sugar intake. If I eat anything with a slight amount of sugar (berries in my kefir smoothie), I have to explain to her why it's so little and why it's ok while other sugar and in other amounts is not. It's been really interesting to have to find the answers to our questions and explain to her even more than ever about diet and what's in our food.

Hannah's also decided that sugar's not good for her and has been phasing it out of her diet where she can (and, frankly, where it's convenient for her). When Hannah was nearly done decorating her house, Matt asked her if she wanted to put any of the conversation hearts on her house, almost the only candy she hadn't yet used. She asked him if they were made of sugar and he said yes. She informed him that she didn't want any sugar on her house, so she wouldn't use the candy hearts. Matt just stared at her. At her and her frosting covered, candy encrusted graham cracker house. That, thankfully, didn't have sugary conversation hearts on it.

Sending seeds.

Today I made seed envelopes, filled them with seeds and sent them to friends around the country. My desk was covered in seed packets, tape dispensers (one for the girls to play with), pens, envelopes, and stamps. I can't wait to hear how they grow.



Hannah sent flower seeds to some cousins. We didn't get to send any to cousins in Arizona or friends in Florida because of the heat. Bummer.

It's an Ainsley day.

The child has finally worn enough clothes for me to post some pictures of her.

If she wakes up and Daddy's not there, no problem. If she wakes up and Daddy *is* there, it's a Daddy's Girl day.



Ainsley wandering out of the bedroom in the morning.



Ready to go to the store.



Ains has taken over any of the baby items that she can. She'll have this bouncy seat unbounced before the baby gets here.



Playing in the sleeping bag with her sister.

Valentine's Day

Just waking up... Hannah says "Mommy, look outside - the trees are sparkling!" So they were. One of these days I'll get out there and get a picture before it melts.

Daddy sent his girls flowers like he does every year. They were much loved.







Hannah wanted to wear one in her hair. I should have waited a few minutes - she soon had five in her hair, but the camera had died.



As Hannah and I were snuggling to sleep that night I said "I love you as big as the moon." She said "I love you how many stars there are." Happy sigh. What a life.

Library Thing and my cookbook addiction.

I finished entering my cookbooks into Library Thing. Seventy-eight cookbooks. And that doesn't include the 15 Pampered Chef or locally made/family cookbooks that don't have an ISBN number. I have a problem.

Three shelves full of cooking books. Is that an addiction?

This is what Hannah did while I entered the books - looked at a fairy tale cake decorating book that I picked up at the dollar store. One of those rare, hard-bound, quality books that occasionally appears at a dollar store.

Daddies are different.

The girls have been running, squealing, attacking, teasing, hiding, chasing, jumping, crawling, screaming, laughing, and generally being giddy girls since their daddy came home from work.

I have fun with them, and they with me, but it's a different, calmer kind of fun. Even the hysterical giggles they get with me come nowhere near to the hysteria they reach with their daddy.

Guest photographer.

We have a guest photographer today.



I'll type the captions she tells me... Enjoy a day through the eyes of a nearly four year old...

This is my sister.



She doesn't know how to eat Pez.



This is my mother. She's very pregnant. Her lap doesn't have much room right now.



I let Ainsley wear my princess dress. She didn't like it. She's not a princess girl like me.



These are my favorite horses. There's Shell and Flower and one I don't like and Flower Boy.



We went to a restaurant last night. It wasn't my favorite, but since Mother's pregnant she got to pick. She ate a chimichanga.



This was my knife.



Here are the flowers I want to buy. I think Dad will say no.



This is my Dora game on the computer. I like playing with her baby brother and sister.



These are my favorite ponies. There's Chocolate Chipper, Pinkie Pie, Butter Pop, Party Cake, Wisteria, and Rainbow Dash. (*tell them I have more, Mom, they just wouldn't all fit in my picture*)

Halfway to China.

"Mom, will you go halfway to China with me?"

"Sure! When are we leaving?"

"I need to pack first."



"OK, let's go."



"We went all the way to China."



"Here are the clothes I packed for Ainsley and me to wear in China."



"Oh, look! They have a tv in China! We can watch my Lady movie!"

The nesting is contagious.

Last night we got a stool for the girls to use. With the house almost completely covered in wood floors now it's really easy for them to push around. They move it all over, wherever they need to get higher. It makes them much more helpful in the kitchen.

Today's kitchen tally:
Lots of garbanzo, Taylor Horte, and Great Northern beans cooked and frozen.
One pizza shell frozen.
Recipe organization started.

I also entered a lot more books on LibraryThing and watched The Future of Food.

Hannah is catching onto my nesting. She mopped the bathroom floor, put away the toilet paper we bought last night, and made breakfast (water, honey, and blueberries - her own concoction) with absolutely no prompting whatsoever.

My girls played a lot, especially in the now open second bathroom. The tub is Hannah's milk tank (yeah, she milks cows in there) and she and Ainsley locked a horrid, mean fairy in the shower because she was trying to put a spell on them. They've locked it so she can't get out. Thank goodness.

Nesting, nesting, and more nesting.

Over the last two days I've made four one gallon bags of Sweet Potato Honey Biscuits, seven 1-cup portions of cooked sweet potatoes, two one gallon bags of Cheesy Potato Soup, two one gallong bags of Orange Chocolate Chip Scones, and five single servings of Skillet Lasagna. If this baby doesn't come soon, we'll need to get another freezer.

The girls have kept busy while I'm a whirling dervish in the kitchen, doing laundry, and decluttering.

Watching Diego and eating chocolate chips.



Playing with horses.



Getting water for tea.



Helping make scones.



Reading.



Telling mom stories while she cooks.



Painting.





And falling asleep at the end of the day wherever you happen to be.

Blender Batter Pancakes

I got this recipe on a small board I belong to. It's very easy, smells sooo good while cooking, and is delicious. Try it!

"I love this! We make a triple batch every saturday. I add
bananas, blueberries & chocolate chips (not all at the same time) and
then freeze the extras.

I sub VCO for the Olive Oil! I usually use a combo of spelt & raw oat
groats!

Many times now I use sprouted spelt so don't have to soak. Then you can
also use apple juice instead of milk for those with any dairy issues
(and soak in w/only whey or lemon juice) . With the sprouted I have to
increase the whole grains to 2 cups. My families favorite combo is just
spelt & oats (equal portions of each)

I have also made them into little silver dollar pancakes and then
dehydrated them lightly to make pancake crackers. I was thinking about
adding some coconut meat (since I have so much) and then make crackers
out of them.

Blender Batter Pancakes
4-6 servings

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or other soaking medium - kefir, sour milk)
1 1/2 cups whole grains (I used a combination of spelt, and oats)
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs honey
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Combine buttermilk, oil, honey and whole grains in a blender and blend
on high for 5 minutes. Add liquid if necessary to keep a vortex
constantly going in the blender. Soak overnight or up to 24 hours. Add
remaining ingredients and blend briefly. Cook pancakes on a lightly
greased griddle on lowest heat until bubbles in the middle of the
pancake begin to break. Flip once. This can also be cooked in the
waffle maker. I served it with melted butter and maple syrup.

Sue Gregg suggests a combination of any of the following grains- brown
rice, millet, kamut, spelt, wheat, seven grain mix, buckwheat (use only
1 cup for 4 servings as it expands), hulled barley, corn, quinoa or
oats."

Labelling of GMO produce.

In the U.S., producers of food that contains Genetically Modified Organisms (corn, soybeans, etc) are not required to label their food as genetically modified. Americans have been unknowingly consuming genetically modified foods for over a decade.

Now, however, produce that is genetically modified is sort-of labeled. It doesn't say "genetically modified" on it, but the PLU code on it will tell you if it is genetically modified. Most produce has a 4 digit PLU code. Organic produce has a 5 digit PLU code and the first number is a 9. Genetically engineered produce (tomatoes especially) have a 5 digit PLU code and the first number is an 8.

It's not much, but it's something.

Info on pg 17 of this document.

The front fell off.

Monty Python-esque interview. Satire based on this occurence in 1991.

Growing up in the universe.

Bookmarking this one for later. Five one-hour lectures by Richard Dawkins.

http://richarddawkins.net/growingupintheuniverse