what? rain in seattle? on a holiday weekend?!

Our plan for this weekend was a last minute trip to one of the San Juan Islands, but the forecast for what seemed like most of Washington was pretty soggy for the entire long weekend, so we decided to stay home. This turned out to be a good thing because I wasn't feeling great part of the time. We watched movies together, made pizza, worked in the garden, went out to dinner at Lola in Seattle, and the rest of the time the kids were so happy to just play, and not get in the car. There was rain, but the temperatures were still warm so they were able to play outside. They pretended to be a family of monkeys and used the ropes under the treehouse for vines. Then they built tunnels and sand castles in the sandpit. Sela decided to make a scarecrow for the garden. Zig put drip lines in our pumpkin patch and I did some cooking and organizing. I felt sick to my stomach all day saturday and stayed in bed. Today I couldn't move my neck when I woke up so I had to get the earliest appointment for a massage that I could find. I've never had a massage for pain, only relaxation, and I definitely prefer the relaxation kind, but this one helped tremendously even though it hurt because I was so sore. I'm not 100%, but much improved. I'm pretty certain part of healing is not picking up Evan all the time, but we all know that won't be happening. Now we're onto another busy week of field trips, projects, meetings, birthdays and other good stuff that I can't wait to be through with :)

Carrot Soup with Lemon and Ginger

Here is the recipe for a wonderfully healthy spring soup I made at a cooking class this week. I didn't have time to take pictures the night of as I was busy trying to make 6 dishes in 1 1/2 hours, but the kids had some leftovers for lunch the next day. They loved it, especially the color.



















Carrot Soup with Lemon and Ginger
Bon Appétit June 1997

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/4 pounds medium carrots, peeled, chopped (about 3 cups)
2 tomatoes, seeded, chopped (about 1 1/3 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
3 cups (or more) chicken stock or canned low-salt broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons sour cream
1 small carrot, peeled, grated
Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add chopped carrots, tomatoes and lemon peel; sauté 1 minute. Add 3 cups stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover partially and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly. Puree soup in batches in blender. Return soup to pot. Mix in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
Bring soup to simmer, thinning with more stock, if desired. Ladle into bowls. Top each with sour cream and grated carrot.

Wild Rice-Sour Cherry Soup

Here is the recipe for the soup I mentioned in the previous post (thanks Lisa!) The last time I made the soup, I added shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken (just a little bit) and some white wine to add some depth, but it's delicious even without those additions.



Wild Rice-Sour Cherry Soup

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 or 2 carrots, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
1/2 cup dried sour cherries (or cranberries)
1 cup milk or hald and half
*shredded chicken
*1/3 cup dry white wine

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until hte carrot is tender, about 8 minutes. Add hte flour and stir until smooth. Gradually add the stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir until the soup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice and dried sour cherries. Reduce the heat;cover and simmer stirring occasionally, until the cherries are softened and plumped, about 15 minutes. Stir in all the remaining ingredients. Stir occasionally until warmed through. Season with satl and pepper to taste.

a break

We have a four day weekend beginning tomorrow and I couldn't be happier. I needed a breather and the timing is perfect. I'm counting down the days till life slows to a crawl. We've been in what feels like a sprint for the past few weeks. The end of school is both exciting and exhausting. I thought it might be time for a little update on a few of the happenings of the past couple weeks.

Nina and Rollin are really playing so well together. Several days this week, they kept each other entertained for 4-5 hours, mostly outside. I try not to interrupt them because they really get into their own little world. I love the days when we have that luxury of not having to be anywhere. Wish we had more, but they're coming.





I was shocked when instead of fighting over the one towel in their bathroom, they came up with this compromise all on their own after getting out of the bathtub!


Kona is still taking his job of chicken protector very seriously. He had another opossum under arrest on the fence this week. It's quite the stand-off and great entertainment during breakfast.







Evan is trying so hard to walk. He has taken several steps and the best thing about it is how excited the other three are. It's like a pep rally every time he makes another attempt. He is used to getting applause so he claps for himself every time. He is also determined to play in the dirt every single day and ruin all his clothes. There might be a lot of diaper pictures this summer!














Sela has been running track. She won two first place ribbons in relay and 440.


Rollin entertaining himself during the track meet.




I've spent lots of time going through my recipes preparing for a cooking class. Aside from creating the menu for the class, I found lots of old favorites to revisit. We've been having soup weather, unfortunately, but the Wild Rice Cherry Soup recipe from Lisa brought a little sunshine to our table. I actually thought the kids would be lukewarm on this one because of the textures and some new flavors, but boy wasI wrong. Everyone cleaned their bowls and Zig said it was his favorite soup ever.

Wild Rice Cherry Soup

Lemon Chicken Salad


Lisa and I have been walking with Rollin, Evan and Sofie on Thursday mornings. We meet around 9, walk along the trail, stop by Hillcrest Bakery, head to the park, feed the ducks, and head back to where we started and to play at the other park. We stop lots along the way to rescue snails and worms and, of course, for snacks. We get back around noon. Rollin rides his bike so he keeps us walking fast. I look forward to this time so much each week for the sunshine (sometimes) and the hours of visiting with Lisa.



And this post is getting too long. I haven't really even mentioned what we've been up to. But it's a start.

a family outing

We see several geese families on our Thursday morning walks along the rivertrail. The baby geese are so cute and Rollin has a hard time approaching them slowly. When he is around, somehow all ducks and geese decide it's time for a swim.

this is my kind of vacuuming!

don't ask how we discovered this trick!

funny

Oh how I love these pictures... they capture the girls just as they are right now. I can almost hear Nina's laugh. It's one of the things we love most about her. And the sparkle in Sela's big eyes. I don't know if these girls realize how special it is to have a sister, but someday they will. I'm thinking of hanging these pictures in their room so when they are upset with each other, they can always remember their good fortune in having a best friend for life.

baby gorilla

hello there!

the final sprint

The end of the school year is busy. There's just no way around it. The craziness of it all makes me look even more forward to summer break, if that is even possible. Auctions, end of year projects, field trips, parties, and on and on.

There are just not enough hours in the day right now so my blogging last week consisted of an ice cream photo. Ha! Sorry Mom and Tina, I know you'd rather see Evan. It was good ice cream though.

Anyway, the kids and Zig did honor my request of not cooking on Mother's Day, and we had a wonderful sunny weekend with lots of togetherness. I did not even think of getting out of bed until I could smell something cooking on Sunday morning :) They were each so proud of their efforts and the brunch (they were trying to get away with 2 meals :) was delicious. Sela even found a recipe for pancakes and printed it off of 101 cookbooks. That's my girl! They won't tell me what they substituted for buttermilk and I'm still a little perplexed about that.

This year the gifts from school were all handwritten poems and notes and I loved them. I'm sure when Sela, Nina, Rollin, and Evan are grown and out of the house (although Rollin has promised to live with me forever), their sweet words and sentiments will bring me to tears again and again as I look back on this time in our lives.

I love being a mother to these four amazing little people with all of my heart. I don't need a holiday or recognition, although it's nice and fun. The reward is in the life we live and I'm so incredibly grateful for each day I have with my children. It's a remarkable journey filled with moments of indescribable joy, and I couldn't ask for more.



We started the "no cooking" part of Mother's Day off on Saturday night with a bike ride. We rode our bikes to Bothell to this wonderful Thai restaurant. We almost ran out of time and drove, but we ended up timing it just right. We had such a blast riding our bikes...Rollin was doing wheelies and waving at everyone he passed. Evan was happy in his apartment on wheels being pulled by Zig. Nina and I rode side by side and talked about all sorts of things...like what kinds of desserts might be at the restaurant. And Sela led the way. It was probably one of the best nights we've ever had as a family. Everyone was happy, the weather was perfect, the food was fantastic, and the the last bit of sun was gone just as we arrived back at the park where we had started. We played with the kids at the park in the dark and then went home and crashed. We had lots of fresh air, full tummies, and plenty of good laughs.













The things we do to get a laugh out of our kids!

why, why, why??

First the peppermint Joe Joe's and now this. Trader Joe's, listen up, you are KILLING me!

a little like childbirth

Enduring the fickle weather during April/May in the Northwest is similar to how I feel about the final moments of childbirth. Early this week, the weather was flat out depressing. When I was near tears after Zig brought me home a salad from Chipotle and they forgot to include the salad dressing, and I got into bed at 7:30 without eating a bite, I knew I just might be reaching my limit. I'm not usually that dramatic, at least I hope not! On Wednesday, I really felt like, I cannot take this another day. I am getting on a plane to I don't care where as long as it's sunny. If Zig ever wanted to convince me to move, Wednesday would have been the day.

But then came Thursday. The sun beamed in my window as I was waking up. I think I said a prayer of gratitude right there half asleep under the covers. The skies were clear. I loaded up the jogging stroller and Rollin's bike and as soon as we dropped the girls off at the bus, we headed to the trail. We rode to Bothell, a fun route Lisa and I took last week. I promised Rollin we could feed the ducks, stop by Hillcrest bakery which is right off the trail in downtown Bothell, and hit the park on our way back. We had a great time and I all but forgot about how miserable I had felt on Wednesday. I was living in paradise again. The air was sweetly scented with all the fragrant lilacs, the birds were singing, the baby ducks and geese are waddling all over the place, and people were cheerful.

Friday was more of the same. So warm that Rollin and Nina put their bathing suits on to have a water balloon fight. Evan played in the dirt and practiced navigating the stairs on the patio. We sat in the rocker together and picked all sorts of bouquets for the house. The windows were open and we enjoyed coconut sorbet for a snack and fish tacos for dinner.

So the sunny weather is much like a new baby. Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, my miracle arrived. I can handle so much more when the sun is shining. And my feelings of despair on Wednesday are all but forgotten. Stop the moving truck. Spring is back from its weeklong vacation and not a moment too soon!