Giving up gluten

November 18, 2011
Wheat field

I have decided to give up gluten, or at least wheat, on a trial basis. How I will live without pizza, I don’t know. Not to mention waffles, muffins, tortellini, crescent rolls and my grandma’s cookies. For the past year or two, I have had a severely itchy scalp. It is worst at night but I rarely feel non-itchy. We have a water softener and chlorine filter on the shower. I’ve tried different shampoos, no shampoo, Scalpicin, coconut oil and shea butter to no avail. I was going to see a dermitologist when, on a whim, I ran a...

Read more »

A 4-year-old’s smoothie recipe

November 8, 2011
A 4-year-old’s smoothie recipe

  Welcome to the November Carnival of Natural Parenting: Kids in the Kitchen This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared how kids get involved in cooking and feeding. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants. ***   When Connor came home from school the other day, he was set on having a smoothie. We had very little yogurt, no ice, no fresh fruit. But he was determined. I decided to...

Read more »

Preparing for Halloween

October 25, 2011
Preparing for Halloween

We carved three of the five pumpkins we bought at Whistling Well. The big kids drew their designs in dry erase marker and Mark carved them. He did Ellie’s himself. The big kids gutted their own pumpkins too, after only a little protesting by Grace. Ellie helped throw the guts in the garbage for Grace, who was across the table from the trash can. Grace took a bowl full of seeds out to the woods and “planted” them. We’ll see if we end up with anything next year. We also got all the kids’ costumes. We bought Connor’s this...

Read more »

Apples, pumpkins and chickens at Whistling Well Farm

October 21, 2011
whistlingwell2

We made our annual fall orchard trip this week. We picked a peck of apples, selected five pumpkins, petted chickens and heard a donkey's bray for the first time. This year we went to Whistling Well Farms, one of several orchards near the St. Croix River between Afton and Hastings.

Read more »

What I’ve been reading

October 17, 2011
Libri_books

I set a goal at the beginning of the year to read 26 books. That’s one every two weeks. With only 11 weeks left to go, I’m half way to my goal. I’ve read several books from my original want-to-read list and several that I’ve found along the way. Here’s what I’ve read so far and brief thoughts on them.   Firefly Summer by Maeve Binchy. I reviewed this when I read it. In a few words, though, I loved it.     Irish America: Coming Into Clover by Maureen Dezell. I grabbed this at Half-Price Books on a...

Read more »

Because she seemed lost in this world

October 13, 2011
lonelygirl

Last week, as I’m sitting in my yard, I hear some yelling. I think it’s coming from a car but I’m not sure. Soon a girl is walking down the sidewalk wiping her eyes. I make eye contact and she says “Excuse me, but my boyfriend and I just had a fight and I had to mace him. I got some in my eye. Do you have something I can flush it out with?” I get her a cup of water and a washcloth and she takes care of her eye. I say “Do you need a ride? Do...

Read more »

Cake pops how-to workshop with Beki Cook

August 15, 2011
Cup of cake pops

Cake pops (or cake balls) are all the rage right now. I would never have attempted to make something so fancy but my friend Darcie asked if I wanted to come to her house and learn to make them from a professional cake baker/decorator. I rarely pass up a chance for a home party so I said yes (and then later learned that the teacher is a coworker’s wife. Small world.) It turns out they are not that difficult to make if you know a few little tips. They are somewhat time consuming though. Here’s a step-by-step in photos...

Read more »