Thursday, December 30, 2010

Asparagus Soup

I am not the type of girl that loves asparagus. It is something green I eat occasionally because I know it is good for me, so when I made asparagus soup I was very leery about how it would taste. Seriously gross were my thoughts.

However, as soon as I put the spoon to my lips my taste buds were in heaven! I wanted to grab a straw and suck the whole pot down! My husband had the same reaction.

Asparagus Soup

1bl young asparagus (thinner are less bitter)
3 tablespoons butter*
6 shallots (or 1/4 cup onion), sliced
1 tablespoon flour
2 1/2 cups veg stock or water (we used veg stock w/o tomatoes)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Wash the asparagus and break off bottom of stock. (Hold the bottom and bend it. Where it breaks is where it is less tough and fibrous.) Break the rest into 1-2 inch pieces.

Melt butter in large pan and saute the sliced shallots for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add asparagus and saute over low heat for 1 minute.

Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the stock or water and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until asparagus is tender.

Cool slightly and process the soup in a food processor or blender until smooth. Enjoy!


The whole recipe has approx 400 calories.

*This could easily be made vegan without the butter. It changes the flavor slightly, but it is still good.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Homeschooling Day 2


Today was another good day of homeschooling. Kristofer started on his work right away and was done at 8:30am. He thinks it is so cool he gets done long before the kids at school get out.

It is amazing to me how much I can visibly see that his stress is reduced. It is like he is a different kid. He is very loving and kind and reaching out for affection instead of pushing me away.


The boys had a good time practicing team work while playing Lincoln Logs. Some things you can't learn in a text book.

Monday, November 29, 2010

First Day of Homeschool


We have decided to homeschool Kristofer and our decision to homeschool was not taken lightly. In fact, as a former homeschooler I had no desire to put the burden of my children's education on my shoulders. Seriously, I have enough on there just trying to raise them right.

However, as the school year has progressed we are noticing the lack of family time and as a result there are unpleasant behaviors. When a child is needing attention they will get it however even if it means using a negative approach.

A few things I have read along the way was Arleta James' blog post about schooling, Christine'sblog post about unschooling and this article about socialization.

For our curriculum I am using what the school gave me that we had already paid for. It covers math, spelling and language arts and for everything else we are using books from the library. In first grade it is all about making it fun and hands on.

After one day of homeschooling I am so happy with our decision and can't wait to see where this leads us.






Friday, August 27, 2010

I had to take a picture of London today when we were heading out the door to pick up Kristofer. I mean really, who is cuter than this?! And lets not forget his stellar red carpet look. It is definitely the training pants hanging out that make this outfit. Wait, maybe it is the white socks. You decide!

Guess what Kristofer learned at school today?

Yep, he learned how to make spit wads.




Thursday, August 26, 2010

Today I am getting sneaky in the kitchen!


Yesterday, I made a vegetarian chili and today I decided to add some pureed spinach to it for lunch. I am having a hard time getting good veggies into my kids so I thought I'd see if they noticed.

While I was heating the chili in a pan I put the spinach in the blender with a 1/2 cup cold chili and blended away.

When the chili was heated, but not boiling I added the spinach/chili mixture and heated until just warm. This way the nutrients do not get cooked out and the taste of the spinach was undetected.

"Mmm, YUMMY!" Says the boy who will not eat green!


I learned all my deceptiveness from Jessica Seinfeld and you can too in her cookbook Deceptively Delicious!



Tuesday, August 24, 2010

You know you are a mom of boys when...


In our family we call the penis a winky. Why? I have no idea. That is just what we do. This past weekend we started calling it by the correct name and the boys got a good laugh about it. I guess it sounds funny to them.

Today, Kolton was waiting his turn to use the bathroom and said, "Mommy! I'm holding my peanuts!"

Why Love Isn't Enough: Part Three

Why Love Isn't Enough: Part Three Check it out and educate yourself!

Monday, August 23, 2010

How Full Is your Bucket?

The book How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids by Tom Rath is a great way for kids to see how our emotional bucket is affected by others around us and how we treat others. I am hoping that by reading it to our boys they will see how treating others the way you want to be treated is truly the right thing to do.