Oh! Tannenbaum

 We head to Swedenburg's Tree Farm to cut down our tree.

 We finally found the perfect one!

 While Will and Tripp cut down the tree, all Charlie wanted to do was fuss about wearing his jacket and try to take it off.

 certain he can carry it himself...

It was a fun afternoon and pics coming soon of our tree decorated!

Good Thing We Like Each Other!

This weekend was particularly fun and funny.

My sis, her husband and niece all came up for the weekend and stayed at my parents.

My grandparents and cousin also decided to come and visit since they were in town.

Again, staying at my parents.

Then, at the end of the day Friday, we returned home from an overnight trip to the water park to find our air conditioner dead, so guess what?!

We headed to my parents for the weekend.

Have I mentioned that my parents house is a construction zone?

They had to redo their foundation AND replace the main water line into the house.

This resulted in ripped up floors, destroyed walls and basically utter upheaval.

So, in all this fun state, we all camped out at my parents  for the weekend and had a blast!

The most fun was watching these 3 cousins playing and squealing with laughter!

We celebrated Tripp's birthday while Cadence was in town so she wouldn't miss any fun!

Tripp requested a peanut butter and jelly house sandwich, mac n cheese, cheese dip and chips and spanish rice. We had quite the interesting dinner (actually, all the fill-ins from the grill were delish!)

We finished up with cupcakes and these sillies all crashed for the night! 

We had fun, Griswolds!!

Hangout Music Fest 2011

view from our balcony and you can easily enjoy tunes from the main stages here as well.

 Easy Star All Stars

 balloon fishing pole w/ a caught fish equals one happy boy

 Honey Island Swamp Band

 Charlie was snoozing 1 song into Widespread Panic...long day :)

 and Tripp crawled into the stroller and went to sleep.

Primus

jumping, jumping, jumping

 percussion tent for the kiddos and kiddos at heart

 mama and Charlie meeting Michael Franti

Michael Franti

 

 

some serious jumping

 snow cone break!!!

 bubble heaven

 baby's gotta eat

 serious stilting skills

We had such a blast again this year at the Hangout Festival! 

and just for fun...Here's us at the Hangout Festival 2010!

Treasure Maps

Also known as a Vision Board.

Treasure Maps are essentially a vision board put together in conjunction with the Aries new moon which is the beginning of a new astrological year. It's what you want to envision for yourself over the next year.

I like doing these because it gives me time to reflect on our life and what is going on as well as what we want to accomplish over the next year...

Things we want to come to fruition,

Positive words to reflect on during bad days,

Affirmations to encourage positive living.

A treasure map can be whatever you want it to be.

It's all about the process of reflection and aspirations.

Ask and you shall receive.

We cut pictures, words etc. out of old magazines and find pictures online to print.

Images that catch your eye and phrases that touch your soul.

Tripp really had fun this morning cutting and pasting, too.

 Tripp's treasure map

I love that he felt the need to "go big".

I also love that he cut out a huge pic of an old school 35 mm Nikon and put it on there as his representation of me. He put the dinner rolls on there for Will.

Mine. 

The left side is focusing on Will and his next move...hopefully a job as a landscape architect soon after graduation (in 3 weeks!!!).

The center is more affirming...the rocks represent balance.

I also want to focus more on my marriage since this is the first year in 4 years that I'm not pregnant or taking care of an infant and Will is graduating, we'll have more time for our own relationship. I miss my hubby!
and Lakshmi.
Can't go wrong with Lakshmi!

I also NEED time for myself. The top right is manifesting that in ways that center me to be a better woman, wife and mother.

Well, not the brooms.

The brooms serve double duty.

1. I want my house to stay more organized and clean.

2. I want to be okay with the fact that my house is not always going to be organized and clean. I have 2 boys under 4 and need to get real.

The bottom left is more focus on life and what I want out of it.

Abundance, Beauty in the Everyday, To be Patient and to be Present

The bottom right is focus on my boys and nurturing their souls and minds.

What do you want for your family and your self this year?

I'm a big believer in the power of positive thinking and manifesting your own destiny.

Only you are in control of the way you live. It's up to you to make the best of it and to find satisfaction in your daily life. If your not, it is then up to you to change it.

Because if you don't change your life for the better, who will??

Sit down.

Think about it.

Write it out or make a Vision Board.

Hold your thoughts accountable and make your life what you want it to be.

Happy Mapping!

Our Spring Equinox Feast

I was almost hesitant to plan a large Spring meal today.

Last year, we didn't do too much and the year before, we went all out celebrating the arrival of Spring.

And Spring is historically and physically associated with fertility.

It is the time of the year that new life is everywhere.

After our first, big Vernal Equinox celebration 2 years ago, I got pregnant with Charlie not long afterwards.

And BOY, was that a surprise!!

Seriously.

A big surprise.

I didn't want to dare tempt the Universe with too much attention towards fertility at this very moment, but we were travelling home on Will's birthday, I was sick the following day, and so we never had our big meal and cake to celebrate his 32nd year of life.

So, I thought...well, what the heck?

Let's do it big...

but hopefully, all that fertility energy of spring will manifest itself in other ways in our life that need it.

The Menu:

Deviled Eggs

Honey Lime Couscous and Avocado Salad

Broiled Lamb Chops over Organic heirloom Lettuce w/ Sesame Mustard Sauce

Challah

Strawberry Cupcakes  

The deviled eggs are easy to make and need little explanation in regards to their significance. An egg is the essence of fertility and life. In fact, dying and decorating eggs in most common thought to be an Easter tradition, but actually it originates in pagan celebrations on the Vernal Equinox...Ostara or Eostre (which is the original word origin for easter). 

This quick and easy appetizer or snack can be made in a variety of ways. I went with a more classic approach. I took the yolks from 6 boiled eggs (they didn't all make it to the final plate thanks to my helpers) and mixed them with a tablespoon or so of mayo, 2 teaspoons of prepared mustard, 2 pinches of dill weed (my special twist), salt/pepper to taste and then, filled the centers of the eggs. To serve, I sprinkled the tops with paprika. Tripp wanted his eggs plain as you can see in the pic above :)

The honey-lime couscous and avocado salad was meant to be this recipe with quinoa, but I didn't realize I was out of it, so I just made a pot of couscous instead. We pretended the couscous were tiny seeds and the presence of avocado is not only delicious, but also is an in-season food and adds a nice springy green coloring. This was YUMMY!

The lamb was my version of PF Chang's wok-seared lamb that they serve on a bed of iceberg lettuce. I broiled the lamb chops with a touch of sesame oil and salt & pepper. Then, I thinly sliced it and served it on top of some beautiful and tasty organic lettuce from Isis Gardens in Tupelo, MS at the North MS Green Festival that a friend and I attended. On top of the slices of lamb and lettuce, I drizzled the oh-so-delicious  sesame mustard sauce. 
If there were actual good sources for lamb around here, I would eat it (this) more often.
So.Good.

Oh, and let's not forget the symbolism...
Lamb is a traditional Ostara/Easter food and the gorgeous green of the lettuce adds fantastic color to remind us of the life returning back to mother earth as well as a tasty representation of her bounty.


And the Challah...Oh my favorite bread on this planet.
A few years ago, I made this for the first time and have been hunting down the recipe ever since. I can NOT find it anywhere on this wide world of webs! And, ya know, that particular challah could have been so good because we were using the fresh eggs from our chickens.
Nonetheless, today's loaf was perfection.
And guess what?!
I didn't bookmark the recipe.
And, now I can't find it anywhere including my history.
I think there is a conspiracy against me and challah.

Anyways, I think I remember everything, so here goes:

3/4 cup water

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

3 2/3 flour

1 t salt
1/4 cup sugar 

2 t yeast

I added the ingredients in this order to my bread machine and turned on the dough cycle. When it was all done, I divided my dough into thirds and braided it. It rose for about 45 minutes and then, I brushed it with and egg wash, sprinkled on the poppy seeds and baked it at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Y'all...this loaf was amazing!
My braiding skills have really improved as well.

My mom calls challah, egg bread, so in that, you can see the connection to our Spring feast. We also topped it with the poppy seeds for an added equinox bonus.

For dessert, I went with my favorite strawberry cupcake recipe.
You can't go wrong with these.
Seriously.
Yum.
Strawberries ripen in the spring and the color is a nice pastel for the season as well.
I thought they'd be a nice addition since I didn't get to bake my hubby a birthday cake this week.
We didn't stick candles in and sing "happy birthday" to Will, but I'm sure he didn't mind.

So, we welcomed Spring with a lovely meal and enjoyed this gorgeous, albeit more like Summer Solstice with regards to weather, first day of Spring.

Stay tuned for more to come as we welcome Spring with our Spring Nature Table, do a little Spring gardening and more!

Felt Mardi Gras Masks

Today's agenda is focused on 1 thing:

 Mardi Gras!

-Make Masks

-Homemade King Cake

-Soaking beans for tomorrow's red beans & rice

The masks turned out so cute and the boys really had fun making them.

Well, Tripp had fun making a mask.

Charlie had fun eating a marker, dumping our supplies out and then, picking them back up to start the cycle all over again.

Notice the marker mouth?

Deciding which treasures to decorate his mask

Meticulously picking out his sequins

Charlie's contribution

Finished!

Checking himself out in the mirror :)

the Mardi Gras monster!

Charlie has yet to let me put his on him, but I will get a pic when he does!

Laissez les bons temps roule, y'all!