More flowers

Yesterday afternoon, I hauled the kids to Lowe's and we picked up a bunch of annuals. More than I had planned on putting in as I wanted more room for perennials, but they were all so pretty! And I probably put in more than is necessary as they are all mounding and fast growing types, but hey, can you really have too many flowers?

We put in Mexican Heather (Esther kept wanting to know where the Esther flowers were), zinnias, and gomphrena. I'd never heard of it before, but was struck by the gorgeous fuzzy purple buds that I just had to get some.
Mexican HeatherZinniaGomphrena - isn't it beautiful?

I am really looking forward to seeing them fill out and create a wash of color in our front yard. Hooray! Now to decide on some perennials to fill in the gaps.

Yard Work

Our yard has been needing a lot of work for the last long while and we finally got a big chunk done this weekend. Well, Daron did most of it. (Can I just say how amazing he is?) On Friday evening, he rototilled the front garden area, then rototilled in a bunch of nutrient-rich soil that we had delivered on Saturday. Last night he planted two crape myrtles and some Indian Hawthorne bushes in there. Esther and I will be planting some annuals in the front this week. I still need to decide on what to do in the middle. Unfortunately, it will be a few years before the bushes grow up so it won't have the mature look that I'm hoping for yet. But it's a work in progress.The hawthornes really do look puny, but they will fill out the area eventually.

Daron has also been the driving force behind getting our garden started. We don't have much in yet as the soil preparation here in the Dallas area is a work unto itself. So he's been working cotton burr compost and peat moss into the vegetable garden area bit by bit. We do have some peas and beans growing, but we may have planted them too late as the weather is already hitting 80F most days. But our four tomato plants are doing well so far and look healthy and green. We're just hoping to avoid last year's disaster of all our plants' roots being choked by the adobe brick clay surrounding them!
Our strawberry plants have been thriving. They were the only things besides a couple of rosemary plants that lasted from last summer. Unfortunately, we're starting to have ants eat the ones in the front and worms have been digging into the back strawberry plants! Any advice?

Even the lawn is starting to show signs of improvement. The herbs we're growing in pots are doing beautifully and look so pretty and green on the front porch.

Finally, Daron pulled all the weeds from by the air conditioner and added some soil to level it off. The next step is to put down some weed blocking tarp thing and cover it with rocks. We also want to replace that lousy looking brick log next to the grass.It is so nice to have greenery and flowers surrounding one's home!!

Laughing with Esther

Laugh One:
Esther had just stubbed her toe on a wooden stool and after a moment of soothing, she was back to playing happily, wrestling with Nathan. I left the room for a minute and within moments heard a blood-curdling scream. As I ran into the living room, I quickly assessed the situation - no blood and Nathan was smiling. That's odd... Usually Nathan gets the raw end of the deal when they're rough housing. I asked Esther what happened and through her sobs, I could barely make out "Nathan 'pit up all over me!" Only then did I realize that her face was indeed covered with the remains of whatever fruit Nathan had just eaten for dinner. No wonder he was so satisfied with himself. So the stubbed toe hadn't been a big deal, but to be spit up on demanded screaming and even more screaming as I washed her up and tried so very hard not to laugh. And I did resist telling her that she was just getting her comeuppance for all the poking, pushing, clobbering, and sitting on that she's dished out to her little brother. The poor girl. For all her sometimes roughness, she really doesn't like to get dirty.

Laugh Two:
I was trying to change Nathan's dirty diaper on the driver's seat in the van before we went into Lowe's. He kept grabbing the steering wheel and pulling himself up and laughing at himself. It's rather hard to change a diaper like that. Exasperated, I said to Esther, "Nathan is being such a goose, isn't he?"

Esther says very seriously, "No, he just being a brother."

Miscellaneous

Here is the first pizza we made where Daron and I felt really good about the crust! Isn't it scrumptious looking?
Recently, Esther was playing with the colored pencils and this was her creation. It is a self portrait. Isn't that clever?

Goodbye boxed cereal! Hello homemade granola!

Up until recently, I've been only buying the all natural boxed cereals and granolas - think Kashi. They're really yummy and at least somewhat healthier than what you normally get in a box. Then I started buying them only when they were on sale. Then they seemed to stop going on sale, or the sale wasn't really a sale. So I stopped buying boxed cereal and granola.

Rather depressing, really, because I find it so much easier to pour bowls of cereal in the morning and hand out bananas and oj than to come up with something creative for every breakfast! And the fact that ever since I was pregnant with Esther, I can eat cereal at any time during the day.

My sister has been messing around with recipes lately, trying to create her own snack foods and found and adapted a recipe for granola. I was somewhat doubtful, wondering if I'd really be up to making my own cereal each week. But I gave it a try and voila! It really was simple and delicious! The recipe is extremely versatile and you could add just about anything to it. Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Cinnamon Stove Top Granola

INGREDIENTS
•1 1/4 tablespoons olive oil
•5 cups rolled oats
•1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
•1/3 cup butter
•1/4 cup honey
•1 tablespoon molasses
•1/2 cup packed brown sugar
•1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds (optional)
•1/2 cup dried cherries (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Combine the oats and cinnamon and add them to the pot. Cook and stir until lightly toasted, stirring constantly, 3 to 4 minutes. Pour the oats out onto a large baking sheet and add the butter to the pot. When the butter has melted, stir in the honey, molasses and brown sugar. When the mixture starts to simmer, return the oats to the pot and continue to cook and stir until coated and hot.

2.Remove from the heat and stir in the almonds and cherries. Pour onto a large cookie sheet and allow to cool. The granola will harden as it cools. When cool, transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature.

Notes: I toast the oats longer and keep it on the stove top for a bit longer after adding the liquid ingredients. Keep mixing or it will burn! It cooks it a bit longer so it will be toasted and crunchy. Then take it off the heat and add your dried fruit.

I also add about a 1/3 C. wheat germ, 1/2 C. Coconut, raisins, dates, etc. Anything goes really. I've added sunflower seeds and those are tasty. I'm thinking I would love to try pumpkin seeds come fall time! I recently added that dried fruit from Costco (cherries, blueberries, raspberries). SOOOO good!

Finally!

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Esther's Birthday

This year, I was looking forward to Esther's birthday more than my own! Daron's parents were coming into town for another family event and decided to come in a little earlier so that they could be here to help celebrate Esther's third birthday as well.

We started with a trip to the Dallas Zoo. (Not as good as the Fort Worth Zoo in my opinion, but it was still a very nice one.) Esther refused to ride in the stroller with Nathan and just ran from one place to another, absolutely enchanted with each new animal, and excitedly telling me that she wanted to take it home with us. Nathan just munched on his socks and the stroller and was happy as a clam to have Grandpa push him around.Esther moving right along.What a cutie!Here's my sweet girl!

That evening we had a dinner of Esther's choosing - homemade mac and cheese, and broccoli, grapes, and tomatoes on the side. Cousins came over for cupcakes and ice cream and presents after that. Everyone wore party hats - even the Dads and a teenage boy cousin. What good sports, considering they were My Little Pony!All ready for the party!Nathan will not be happy about this in years to come!
Trying my hand at homemade cupcakes and frosting. It turned out pretty good - not perfect - but not bad for a first try.

What a delight Esther is to have in our family. She is a very strong willed, yet sweet girl who loves to read, play games, and dance. I can't believe it was only three years ago that she joined Daron and myself. I feel like I've always known her. She truly lights up my life. I love you Esther! Happy Birthday yet again!