Sebastian got a digital camera for Christmas. Actually Dita (his grandfather) had an old one that he passed along. Best gift ever. Now we get to enjoy a peak through the eyes of a five year old. It's been a long time since I've seen through those. Here's some of Sebastian's work. This series is "Self-Portraits." Enjoy!
About three weeks ago I had one of those days that you look back on and wonder, what in world just happened? It all started when we realized that we hadn't seen Susu around that morning. Jose was heading out for a kayaking trip and I was getting ready to take the boys to church so I asked him to check the road just in case. Sure enough, she'd made it out the gate and onto the road in front of our house. Being hard of hearing and not so keen on vision either she probably never saw it coming. I got the boys out finally and we headed off to church. Sebastian decided that it was too noisy in the nursery and he wanted to stay with me. Okay, fine, now we just have to get Noah to his room. Not gonna happen. As soon as I started signing him in he began to whimper. Since it was snack time and he was all too eager to get in on the goldfish and juice, I thought it might just work. It didn't. So we took our goldfish (chucked the juice) and headed through the sanctuary to the balcony, the very top of the balcony. We lasted there about five minutes, until the goldfish ran out and then Noah was ready to run the steps. My boys have never been able to manage quietly in church. So we left. I thought we might as well squeeze in a trip to the market since we were out and I desperately wanted some fresh veggies and fruit. While we were there the boys found a few box fans which vendors had set up to keep cool. Sebastian loves talking into the box fan and listening to how it changes his voice. These fans didn't have those little plastic feet that help stabilize them. So you can probably guess where this is going. It took about 30 seconds for Noah to touch one of the fans. That's all it took for the thing to fall over. After the loud bang there was a loud knocking noise. I picked it up and shut it off, just in time for the owner to stomp over and say, "Well, you just bought a fan." Hey, thanks for giving me the chance to apologize and offer to pay for it. I asked her how much it cost, she didn't reply so said, "$15?" And her answer was, "That will cover it." I asked if it was more or less and she said it was about $13.50. I dragged the boys around to the front of her stand and tried to keep them from causing any more damage while I wrote her a check. She pretty much ignored me and talked to some friends right next to me. I realize that I let my boys play with something that wasn't ours to touch. I was more than willing to make amends. But, man, was she nasty about it all. It was really embarrassing and she managed to make it as unpleasant as possible. When I told Jose he asked if it was a certain person and said that she'd been rude to him before.
I should have cut my losses and just left then, but I came for veggies so we headed over to a few stands, got some veggies and fruit, the whole while the boys were very active and not obeying very well. After they played in the kids area for a bit, I saw some cucumbers and thought I'd push my luck. So I got my check all written up except for the payee and amount (not smart, I know) and dragged the boys and our produce over. After telling Sebastian multiple times that we weren't going to pay $5 for a pint of blackberries while trying to hold on to a flailing Noah I went to pay for my two cucumbers. The only problem was that I couldn't find my check. I ran around looking for it, snapping at, begging my boys to just wait and stop screaming. (It was not a pretty sight). Finally I just wrote a new check and asked the vendor to tear up the other blank check if he saw it. As we were headed out a woman got my attention and directed me to someone who had found the check and torn it up. What relief! We headed back out and then I realized that I'd left my bag of peaches so back in, grab the peaches and we finally got out of there. I think there were a few other minor happenings but they pale in comparison to the craziness of that morning.
Oddly enough it didn't really phase me, well except for that lady with the fan. It was another day before my face didn't burn when I thought that incident.
This spring we planted kale in our garden. This was first for us and I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I like the stuff. I'm also thrilled that this, so called cool weather plant, seems to not be aware of the heat or humidity and is happily providing me with new, young leaves for breakfast smoothies. Kale, you say? In a breakfast beverage? Yes, and let me tell you it ain't half bad. If I were more poetically gifted I'd write an ode to kale. How could I not love it after hearing my exceedingly picky four year old exclaim, "I love kale smoodies!" Whaaat? The kid who, as an infant, could smell green veggies hidden under his yogurt on the spoon before it even hit his mouth? The same kid who has refused most veggies, up until recently, and desired to live off Yobaby yogurt and Goldfish crackers (not that we let him, mind you). Yes, although in the spirit of full disclosure I have to admit that I think he's moved through that phase and is now much more daring in his food choices. Macaroni and cheese with brocolli, special chicken (salmon), coleslaw, hummus, fish oil capsules (yuck), etc. The other day, out of nowhere, he even requested carrot sticks. But I digress.
So perhaps all my excitement about kale is making you curious about how this smoothie thing works. There are lots of ideas and recipes out there (I'm so not even going to pretend that this is an original idea) but here's what we've tried and had success with. We've tried pineapple, mango and strawberries in addition to the fruit mentioned below. All are good.
A few cups of washed, torn kale, stems removed.
1/2-1 c. water, juice, yogurt or other liquid of your choice (I use water and coconut milk yogurt)
2 or 3 ripe bananas
1/2 or more c. fresh or frozen blueberries
dash vanilla
1-2 TBS. extra virgin coconut oil, optional
1-2 pastured raw eggs, optional
Blend kale with a small amount of liquid, add a little at a time until it begins to blend the leaves. Let blender run for a few minutes, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides. Once kale is well blended (how smooth it gets will depend on the quality of your blender) add your fruit and vanilla and blend again. If it's too thick add more liquid. If you add the coconut oil and eggs chances are it will get really thick, think mayonnaise, and you'll need some additional liquid. Once it's well blended, pour into a glass, sip with a straw if desired, and exclaim, "I love kale smoodies!"
The chocolate kale smoothie alternative. Just add some cocoa powder to your bananas and blueberries. You may need additional sweetner (we like honey).
This obviously has no kale in it. Just your classic banana-strawberry smoothie (with extra EVCO and raw eggs, or course ;)
Every week or two we pull out the paints and the kids go to work. I always hope that it will be a chance to slip away and get some dishes done or clothes folded or, okay, realistically, email and internet checked. Somehow I always forget that paint, water and small children are not a low maintenance combination. The level of required involvement aside, I love watching my children create and enjoy art. Even if it just involves eating the paint.
Sebastian calls this work of art, "The Pollination." Or at least he did while he was working on it. He looked at me funny when, after he'd completed his masterpiece, I asked him if that was what it was called. Oh well, you've got to grab inspiration when you hear it.
We celebrated Sebastian's 4th birthday on a cold, windy March 20th outside at the park. Remind me next year that no matter what it's like the day before, it will probably be cold or windy or both on March 20th. The kids had a good time playing on the playground but they about froze solid when they sat down to eat some lunch and cake.
A few days later "the Fam" did a birthday train ride at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Sebastian and Noah were both very excited about the train ride and all the big trains we were able to see. Mommy and daddy were just glad that it was only a 30 minute ride.
For the past few years we've bought a whole beef from Sequatchie Cove Farms and split it with extended family and friends. It's a great way to get quality grass-fed, unofficially organic meat relatively inexpensively. Some people might think it's silly but I really like knowing where my food came from and even more so that it's healthy and well cared for. We also split a whole hog with family but the bacon disappeared too quickly :( Recently we went out to the farm to get a truck load full of beef. The boys had a great time checking out the tractors and pigs.
Noah and Teya
We're fortunate to live near one of the cousins, Teya, whose about six months older than Noah. They both enjoy playing the piano at Nina and Dita's (my parents).
