Dr Checkups and Upcoming Events

Both of the kids had their Well-Baby/Child checkups today and did great! 

• Caden was in the 91% for weight and 95% for height. 

• Emberly was 65% for weight and 75% for height. 

They're both growing like crazy!

Can't believe July is almost over....we have a birthday party for Michael, my Grandma's birthday party and a music festival to look forward to (among other things) in the next month or so.

Berry Cobbler

So, last summer I was on the hunt for a really good berry cobbler recipe and after several tries think I found my favorite on allrecipes.com and made some changes to it. It's versatile because you can use any kind of berries and/or fruits that you want or have on hand. I made it a couple weeks ago with blueberries and raspberries and today I made it with blueberries, marion berries and cherries. Yum!

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar coconut palm sugar*, divided
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Optional Ingredients: 1/4-1/2 cup oats, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch arrowroot powder*
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 cups berries, fruit or combo of both, rinsed and drained.
• The kinds of fruits you could use are: blackberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, etc. Just make sure everything is close to the same size and small enough to cook through.

*I've replaced white and brown sugar with coconut palm sugar in most of my recipes AND coffee. 

*I've also been using arrowroot powder as an alternative thickener in place of cornstarch or flour. You may need to adjust the amount you use in other recipes, such as gravy, because it isn't exactly the same but the 2 T in this recipe works great.

Walking!

Emberly is walking now! She's been taking steps here and there for awhile now but about a week ago she started walking without holding onto things and just took off. Yesterday we went to the mall and got her a new pair of shoes that she can walk in and wear outside while she's playing. I can't believe I have 2 mobile kids now! :)

Backyardigans

So, one of the things I wanted as a result of working at home was getting the back yard in a good place where a) the kids can play outside and me not have to worry about them getting hurt or into something they're not supposed to, b) a place where we can all relax, c) be outside as much as possible and d) I didn't want to be cooped up inside all summer long. There are quite a few projects on our list as I mentioned in an earlier post and we're tackling them one at a time. 

#1) The first was to create a new space for our garden. Last year when we first put in our raised bed our dogs got into it and ate some of the plants before we had a chance to enjoy the fruits of our labor. So I had the great idea to use the old dog kennel to wrap around garden so we could keep the dogs out and create a cute, little garden area. We got a great deal on a new dog kennel at Costco and moved the old one over the raised beds. We've planted several kinds of tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, zucchini, leeks, arugula, kale, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, parsley, basil, rosemary and chives. We also have raspberries and blueberries planted in pots in the front yard.