This looks like a good spot

Yesterday I turned the corner to find Nina and Rollin enjoying their books and a little bit of the morning sun. Is it summer yet? We are counting down over here at the Serafin abode!

Rollin's new ride....

I started kindly mentioning (not nagging, yet!) to Zig that it might be nice to set the trampoline up for the summer. It's been sitting around for almost 2 years...mainly because we thought we were going to put it in the ground, but we decided not to. Too much work, too wet, etc. Rollin needs something to do when the girls are off in their own world with Sophia and Emma building caterpillar rescue facilities and such.

Zig took Rollin with him on a few errands Monday afternoon and guess who came home with a new bike?! His other free one from the side of the road was kind of a piece of junk, imagine that. He liked it but it was pretty unstable. He loves this new bike but he goes way too fast! Anyway, I guess Zig thought this might buy him some time to delay putting up the tramp. Nice try, honey!

Memorial Day Weekend

We've had some good days and some less than stellar days since Evan's arrival. Everyone is adjusting in their own way to the change in our routine and probably more so to the fact that I'm often occupied with the baby (and tired and impatient). But things seemed to return to normal this weekend. With Zig around for four days and lots of friends to play with, everyone seemed to be happy and back to their old selves. I know we will have our bumps, but it was sure nice to have such a lovely and peaceful weekend. We stayed close to home and took it easy. Here are some of the highlights that made the weekend memorable, even though we didn't get out and "go" anywhere.

*homemade strawberry shortcakes for breakfast*fish tacos*thenos dairy*sunshine*mangos*gardening*fairy houses*bike ride*snuggling Evan on the back porch watching the kids play*Movie night-Swiss Family Robinson*sleepover*leisurely meals outside*open windows*changed winter clothes for summer* Caterpillar Rescue Center complete with a little zip-line made out of plants*caught up on laundry* pet art camp..Spotty the bunny made a painting at "camp" and ended up a little green * sleepless nights* playing from dawn till dusk with the neighbors* falling more and more in love with Evan* reading*relaxing*s'mores* running in the sprinklers*Zig home*3 phone calls in 4 days..ahhh, still flying under the radar thanks to little Evan*everyone sleeping in (minus Evan)*flashlight tag* harmony *

Ice cream cones and sunshine


Evan loves the sway of the hammock

Open windows


Chubby baby


He winks!


Simple salads
And the last of the tulips

Will definitely make again and again.....

Yesterday I tried two new recipes and they were both total keepers which shouldn't be a surprise since they are from 101cookbooks. Delicious! The only additions I made were a few dried cranberries on the salad, mainly for color, and I added coconut to the cookies. I also used pecans instead of walnuts. The cookies are awesome, and got thumbs up from the neighbor kids as well. So good and very moist. And for cookies they are quite nutritious.

Farro can be hard to find, but it has a unique flavor and texture that is unlike any other grain I've used. It is also quite a bit more expensive than say, quinoa, but a little goes a long way and it's really, really good. But I'm sure you could substitute another grain or rice.

Citrus Parmesan Farro Salad Recipe

Hot farro grains will cause the salad greens to wilt, so give yourself enough time for the farro to cool to room temperature before tossing the salad. If you want to do a warm/hot version of this salad use spinach (3 handfuls) and toss with hot farro and dressing just before serving - this will wilt the spinach in a good way.

4 to 6 big handfuls of mixed salad greens, washed and dried
2 cups farro, rinsed and drained
5 cups water (or stock)
2 teaspoons fine-grain sea salt
1 medium orange, zest and juice
1 shallot, chopped
1/3 cup Parmesan, freshly shredded
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 cup good quality olive oil
a couple big pinches of salt
1/2 cup Spanish almonds, or toasted regular almonds
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled

Combine the farro, salt, and water in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the farro is tender, 45 minutes to an hour, or about half the time if you are using semi-pearled farro. Taste often as it is cooking, you want it to be toothsome and retain structure. Remove from heat, drain any excess water, and set aside.

While the grains are simmering make the dressing. Whisk together the orange juice, orange zest, shallot, Parmesan cheese, white wine vinegar, and olive oil. Salt to taste and set aside.

Just before serving, in a large bowl, toss the salad greens with a bit of the dressing. Add the farro and another generous splash of the dressing - gently toss again. Taste and add more dressing and/or salt. Finish by sprinkling the goat cheese and almonds across the top. Be careful not to over mix.

Carrot Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup real maple syrup, room temperature
1/2 cup unrefined (fragrant) coconut oil, warmed until just melted
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Preheat oven to 375F degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and oats. Add the nuts and carrots. In a separate smaller bowl use a whisk to combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, and ginger. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
Drop onto prepared baking sheets, one level tablespoonful at a time, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake in the top 1/3 of the oven for 10 - 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden on top and bottom.
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

Sweet email from Sela

Hey Mom I rely want you to know how much I love you thank you for all you do.

And this picture totally reminded me of you!

French bulldog

I love you

Getting back on track (or at least attempting to)

I'm pretty much maxed out on sandwiches and prepared food from Trader Joes. I am craving salads, fresh veggies, and homemade food. And I know if there is no menu or plan, there is no chance at this point in time that I will get these kind of meals on the table. But it's important to me, so I'm going to try. I took a few minutes last night and got back to planning our meals. We'll see how it goes. I made the curry on Saturday and the kids loved it. They were doing a little cauliflower chant, led by Rollin. I actually thought this recipe would be met with a few groans but they literally scarfed it up and asked for more. We had planned to go out to dinner, but I had tons of cauliflower (washed and chopped by Mom) and I happened to see this recipe for the curry. It took just a few minutes and we didn't have to lug everyone out to a restaurant while the sun was still shining.

Saturday: Cashew Cauliflower Mango Curry
Sunday: Citrus Parmesan Farro Salad (lunch) Asian Lettuce Wraps (dinner)
Monday: Fish Tacos
Tuesday: Peanut Noodle Salad with Asparagus
Wednesday: Mexican Torte
Thursday: Cream of Asparagus Soup, Swiss on Rye melts
Friday: Homemade Pizza

Life with baby...

You'd think time would slow down with a new baby at home. Our pace has slowed but for some reason, the last three weeks just flew. I haven't left home too much and have enjoyed just loving on this baby and not having to be anywhere. But I can't believe our baby boy is three weeks old this Saturday. And I really can't believe Mom is leaving tomorrow. I'm not ready for real life yet.

I've been spoiled with Mom here because she knows just what to do and steps right in whether it be taking Sela to school, making lunches, or getting Rollin his much needed exercise outside! She's taken the kids on special outings, smoothie runs, met the bus for Sela, helped Zig get the garden planted, cleaned non-stop, tried to handle Kona, (ha!), and so much more. She's done laundry continuously since she's been here and we still have piles waiting....I think I may need to hire someone for that job alone when Mom goes. It seems like the laundry load has tripled and we only added this tiny little baby to the mix!

Anyway, aside from all the help she has given me, it's really so sad for me to see her go because I just enjoy having her here. I have someone to try and laugh with at all the craziness around us. And believe me, we've had some crazy days around here! I feel bad because I think we have totally worn her out. She will probably need to sleep for a few days when she gets home!

We'll miss you, Mom!

And here are a few details of the goings on of the past couple of weeks....

• We named our baby boy Evan. It only took a week and a half and all the kids and Zig love the name. I like the name a lot. We are still working on a middle name. Well, in theory we are. In reality, I haven't seen much of Zig the past couple of weeks.

• Zig took a new job (still with Microsoft) but he will be splitting his time between Redmond and San Francisco working in SF Monday-Thursday each week for the foreseeable future. Great opportunity, not the best timing :) But we'll have fun spending time down there with him when we can.
  

• Evan is a doll. Sweet and beautiful and sleepy.

• We rarely see his eyes open during the day at three weeks old.

• He has his days and nights 100% mixed up. This was not a huge surprise to me. I often commented to Zig when I was pregnant that we were in trouble when he was born because of his pattern of being super active beginning each night at 10pm. Almost to the minute, this is when he comes alive right now.

Here he is just before the girls go to sleep...a rare moment awake.


Pictures aren't too easy because I can't rouse him from his slumber!


More sleepy time with Nina


Getting some fresh air and a bit of sunshine outside...

• He has to sleep every minute right next to me with every part of his body touching some part of me. How dare I try to roll away from him and try to sleep! We are quite the inseparable pair right now. He's a cuddler so he picked the right family.

• He's a little peach during the day and sleeps anywhere, only waking up to nurse.

• He purrs while he nurses. I've never had one who purrs, but it's the sweetest sound!
  

• The kids are into him, but not as much as I thought. They don't smother him or get in his face much so he's had a fairly peaceful first few weeks. They all seem to really love him, but they are giving him plenty of space. This could be because he is almost never awake when they are.

• Rollin can't stand to hear him cry. Last night when they were watching a movie and Evan started to fuss a little bit, Rollin said "Quiet down, Baby!"

• Evan regained his birth weight plus 1 pound before he was two weeks old.

• My little Rollin seems so big now. I look at his hands and feet and think wow, he's such a big boy! He's had some adjusting, but I don't know how much of it is the age rather than the new baby. He wanted me to take a picture of him on Sunday after I was snapping a few of Evan.
  
  

• Mom invented a new super delicious breakfast treat. I brought her home these yummy coconut covered cashews home which turned out to be rather addicting for both of us, and she made this lovely concoction below. Greek yogurt, champagne mangos, and coconut cashews. YUM!
  

• Ben and Eric cranked on the treehouse and started building the porch railing. Lots of sawing logs made for some fun little remnants for the kids to play with.

• The girls loved having Mom french braid their hair while she was here. What I'm sure Mom didn't love is Rollin trying to "sniff" her while she was braiding. He is very into smells and always likes to cuddle up and smell Mama, but I guess I wasn't available so he added Granny to the list of acceptable people to sniff. Crazy boy! If I ever need to embarrass him when he's older, this little trait of his will most definitely come back to haunt him! Armpits smell that good, Rollin? Really??? I guess it's the Mango deodorant.
  

Feel the love, Mom!

The last of the tulips bloomed. The red and white ones below are called Rembrandts (if I remember correctly). They are stunning and remind me of a peppermint. Zig planted these around the chicken coup. I almost missed them since I haven't been out there as much lately.

• And some other new blooms this week:

• We made a trip to Farrel McWhirter park to see the 15 new baby pigs. Gosh, what am I complaining about, I just had one! There were also three newborn baby goats. All so cute!

I'm flying solo in about 8 hours so I better get back to bed. I finally have my little night owl sleeping in my lap, so it's back to bed for what will likely be my last chance to sleep in for awhile.

Goodnight.

First Bath

First bath...with company.

He slept the whole time. I LOVE these little newborn baths more than anything.

Mother's Day

It's been busy around here keeping up with four little ones! What would I do without Mom?! Sela, who very rarely gets sick for more than a day, was sick the entire week after the baby was born. Apparently, half of her class was out during part of the week with a similar illness....the worst part of it being a persistent cough. She is much better now and finally got to hold her little brother after a week of looking at him from a distance.

We had a very nice, relaxing Mother's day. The weather was warm and sunny, and it was a treat to be able to celebrate the day with Mom here! I don't think we've been together on Mother's Day since I was in high school. She's been a tremendous help over the past week and we've all enjoyed having her here. I am so blessed to have such an amazing and totally selfless mother. The kids and I made a little brunch on Sunday morning. We had zucchini omelets, raspberry scones, croissants, strawberries, kiwis, and a salad.


After we had brunch, I was treated to some very lovely homemade gifts. They had been sneaking around here for a couple of days and had made several trips to Ben Franklin (a craft store) with Mom. Nina made some beautiful beaded earrings and Sela painted me a picture of tulips on a canvas. I also got a book of poetry from Sela and some homemade spa items from Nina. Very fun!

When it was Rollin's turn to give me his present, he didn't want to. He didn't really have one and Mom had helped him pick me a flower and put a little ribbon on it. After he saw the girls give me their gifts, he disappeared to his room and came back with a little sack. He was beaming and when I looked inside, I saw his lovey and a screwdriver. His prized possessions. It was a sweet and very tender moment for me. I got a little choked up just realizing how much he wanted to give me something special. He'd had kind of a rough week with all the changes and with me being so preoccupied, but all his little "behaviors, " like calling me and everyone else "dummy head" were almost forgotten for a moment. I love that little boy!




The rest of the afternoon we sat outside and watched the kids play. Zig had cut the grass on Saturday and they were busy making paths out of it under their favorite climbing tree. There is nothing that makes me happier than to see the three of them all playing together and getting along. I think Sunday was the last time I saw it, come to think of it :) Good times though! And lots of deep breathing!

This little picture of Nina is an example of fashion taking it's cue from nature :)



On Saturday, Zig taught Sela to mow. She was having way too much fun!


The last of our tulips are up now and one of my new favorites is the almost black tulip...it's a deep purple and it is just beautiful. Mom loves the pink ones below because they have this really stunning indigo color inside.

I call this patch the Easter egg patch because the colors totally remind me of Easter. You can see a few of the dark tulips in the mix.

Sweet dreams.....

I love watching my babies sleep. In a matter of just a few minutes, there are dozens of little grimaces and facial expressions. Quick smiles and tiny groans. And maybe a yawn if we're lucky. I could watch and smell this little baby all day.







The sleep thing is a bit contagious.