Foraging

I've aways been interested in foraging edible weeds and living off the land. This year I discovered that our neighbor has an elderberry bush. Excitement! Elderberries are amazing in so many different ways--the berries as well as the flowers.

I've picked a few and had grand plans to make jelly, but there's no way I'm going to come up with the huge amount of berries needed, so I'm going to make elderberry syrup, which is a cold/flu preventative and treatment for those illnesses.  The syrup is taken daily (1tsp for kids, up to 1 tablespoon for adults) for prevention and every 2-3hrs for flu symptoms. 

Combined with the Master Tonic languishing in my cabinet, the elderberry syrup will significantly add to the natural medicines available for my family. 

Pictures and tutorial soon!

Childhood's End

The end of summer is near; Autumn beckons. School begins in four days, the kids have their backpacks ready to go, the meal plan for lunches is in the works and all is well.

Thursday  Em and I went to the high school to find her classes and talk to a counselor about graduating early. 

We got in and she received her new heavy schedule so she can graduate her Junior year, plus about 3 credits she'll need to do online.

It wasn't until later that I realized that graduation junior year means graduating next year. Next. Year. Say what?  That doesn't seem right at all.

As my girls have gotten older, there are some things wonderful about being able to have a conversation that doesn't revolve around Minecraft or Legos (little boys, obvs) but with all of that there are things I'm not too keen on.

Boyfriends.  Now, I'm not saying I dislike the boys, because I don't. What I don't like is the realization that Mom is no longer #1. My girls are on the threshold of their own lives, a life in which they will leave me and their father behind and live it their way. My time of raising them is nearly finished.

It's an exciting time for them, and for me, also. They have opportunities that I never had, especially with all the moving we have done and the larger schools. They definitely have received a better education than I did.

 There have been some hard conversations with both of our girls, moments that you *know* that if you'd been told when you became a parent that this moment would come, you'd have second thoughts.

Sometimes parenting really sucks.

Most of the time, though, it's great.

Like when school starts and my house will be clean again, at least for a short time!

Get Your Dirt On

Things I really feel dumb about buying:

*Zucchini (I don't buy this at the store anymore, so I only eat it during the summer)

*Potatoes (this is my first year of growing a bunch.)

*Dirt

Really, is there anything dumber than buying dirt?  I don't think so.  Yesterday I dragged Tom out to Menard's and bought three cubes of dirt. Yes, I said cubes. Instead of those unwieldy and bulky gigantic bags of dirt that weigh fifty pounds, there are now cubes of dirt. Awesome, yes? But still dumb.

Today the plan is to fill the two raised beds with the dirt and plant my fall garden. I bought beets, kale, turnips and radishes from Baker Creek.  I've not done a fall garden before, so I am excited. Not so exciting are the butternut squash vines trying to smother everything.  I shouldn't complain, though, because it's food.

I've already pulled out the spent broccoli plants and one of the zucchini that was being destroyed by the squash bugs. Those things are really annoying!

Raised bed ready for planting, sharing space with the surviving cucumber plant.

One  of the many volunteer butternut squashes.

Anything you can do, I can do

Since moving to Chicagoland, I have really struggled with fear of driving on the interstates around here. What if I get lost? What if Iget a flat tire? What if I can't do it? And on and on. Silly, I know, but sometimes fear can get the best of us no matter how ridiculous or dumb it seems to others. Fear is subjective, not objective. Fear is personal, irrational (sometimes) and once you conquer it, fear can shrink and make you wonder why you let something like driving on I-80 make you so nervous.

Granted, no one likes to drive on I-80 in the midst of semi trucks and idiot drivers (there are a lot of them in this area, trust me).  The first time I drove to Naperville Amtrak station to pick up my daughter after her visit to friends in Galesburg, I was a nervous wreck.  The entire week before D-Day I was consumed with worry and my stomach felt sick. Yes, I prayed (a lot!) but I never allowed the Holy Spirit to comfort me and take away  my worries, until the day arrived. With my oldest daughter  beside me and the boys safely at a friend's house, I headed out, white-knuckled but fairly calm.

And guess what? It was okay. Everything was okay. Even despite a couple of wrong turns in Naperville (stupid GPS) we still made it to the station and even found a place to park, not an easy task, let me tell you.

I did it.  And today I did it again. I had to drive to La Porte in order to close a bank account, and it was an hour long drive. I could have avoided the interstates, but as Emily said, it would be good practice to follow the GPS. So I did.

And guess what? It was okay. It was fine. No problems at all. I didn't even have sore hands when we got home!

Saturday morning I will again be heading to Naperville with Emily, and this time, it will be okay.

I know I can do it.

And....she's back

I've really neglected this spot! I always have good intentions, but then life gets in the way and posting on here slips my mind.

Summer has been awesome, as it always is. I love the hot weather! I get such a sense of accomplishment seeing everything I planted grow and produce, and I don't even mind picking off all of those Japanese beetles. The ugly grey squash bugs, though, are something altogether different. I don't want to touch them. So gross!

The three boys spent 10 days with their grandparents at the beginning of July. They had a blast, but it was hard for me at first. For a day or two I could only wander around, at a loss. It was so quiet and the house stayed clean. Amazing!  Once I got used to the quiet and the fact that I didn't have to do all that mom stuff constantly, it was nice. I was able to work on my book and really make some process on it. Go me!  

Now I know what parents with only 2 kids (teenage) experience. Wow! Easy street for sure.  Ha ha, no , not easy, just different. 

I missed my little boys, though, and I wouldn't want to be without them.

At Navy Pier

Finding Balance

There should be a balance to being Mommy and being Wendy; I know this. But finding it is proving somewhat elusive. Mostly the Mommy part wins, leaving Wendy disgruntled and sometimes resentful. Not cool. When Wendy wins, the family suffers. Not cool either.

So what's the answer? How to find this? 

I don't know, but I am working on it. Trying to become more organized in the kitchen which will free up some time to do other things besides meal plan, make snacks and clean the house.

A different kind of pizza

Butternut Squash Pizza. 

Cut squash into rounds, not too thin and bake @400* for fifteen minutes. Remove from oven and flip over. Top with:  veggies, sauce, cheese, sausage, pepperoni, etc etc. Whatever you want!  Put back into oven and bake until done.

Here's a few photos of my yumminess:

 Yummo!