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The best job.

Kitchen Experiments

Have been trying some new recipes out lately. Here are a couple things I've done (and actually photographed).

Goldfish! Asher loves these crackers. But I don't love the long list of weird ingredients. So I decided to try out Smitten Kitchen's recipe. Asher loves them! (The fish shape doesn't hurt!)

I also recently tried making homemade yogurt. My first attempt was a big FLOP. But this recipe worked very well. The consistency is great. And so is the taste. The best part is that I only need to purchase milk to make more! I can continue to use the yogurt I've already made as a starter for the new batch.

Can't wait to try some more real food recipes!

More Food

After our visit to the Please Touch Museum last week, we made a brief stop at Trader Joe's. Oh, how I wish we had a store locally. 

I picked up these beauties (my favorite ever flower).

Picked up some coconut oil at a fantastic price.

And stocked up on their amazing chocolate chips.

Oh, and how can I forget to mention these dark chocolate pb cups. They are SO.GOOD. (notice how they're nearly polished off - later in the same day I purchased them!)

In other food news, check out what we found growing in the backyard!

And do you remember the unknown berries I showed you recently? Well, my friend Chanda informed me that they're black raspberries! I picked a bunch and Michael was willing to try them out. I waited a couple days (to make sure he survived) and tried them myself - they were great; I think they're better than red raspberries!

On a sidenote, I've been making green smoothies almost daily. The recipe I've been using is actually good. Never thought I'd say that about a green smoothie. (I tried a different recipe back when I was pregnant, and gagged the whole way to work.

Please Touch

Last week we drove down to Philadelphia to visit the Please Touch Museum. I had purchased tickets for half off through Living Social a few months ago. Asher had a blast running to all the play things and enjoying the small-scale cars, grocery stores, houses, and so much more!

"Lay off, man. It's my turn to drive."

In yet another vehicle. (there were MANY)

His favorite vehicle.

Always on the go.

Probably his favorite thing in the whole museum. A wall full of buttons and switches.

Making a sandwich for mommy.

Getting distracted trying to eat the "bread".

The fun {messy} water section.

Trying to take off with Mama Bear and Baby Bear.

Giving the bird a kiss.

Probably the best ever picture of our family.

Grocery shopping that he took very seriously.

Extreme vacuuming.

 Carousel for a tired boy at the end of our visit.

Fell asleep in the car - and stayed sleeping while Michael carried him during a quick stop.

The day was a success!

Things Loved in June

1. A new tradition.

2. This recipe for Whole Wheat Waffles. Delicious.

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3. This website. Such a great resource for eating whole foods, with recipes, discussions, meal plans, etc.

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4. Pinterest. I've been pinning A LOT lately.

5. Essie's Meet Me At Sunset. Love this color for summertime.

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Date Morning

With my littlest man.

Taking a cue from this blog post, I decided it would be fun to go out to breakfast with Asher on occasion. I can't be sure that it will be a weekly occurrence, but definitely once - preferably twice - a month. We went to Miss Emma's before church on Sunday, and picked a nice sunny seat by the window.

Colored while we waited. Working with his right hand...

And his left...

 Waiting patiently.

And not-so-patiently.

Food!

Get outta my way, toast.

Double forking it.

The eggs were his favorite. Of course.

Next time I'll have to be sure to get a photo of the two of us. 

It was such a fun way to start the day!

Catching Up

I've gotten out of the habit (does doing something for a week constitute a habit?) of setting daily goals. I accomplished quite a bit while I was doing this. So I'm trying to get back into it. The last couple of weeks have been a jumble of not much going on and getting even less accomplished. Yet my to do list has seemed never ending.

So, this week I've begun my early morning to-do list making again. And it's been great. I didn't accomplish everything yesterday, and I probably won't today. But I guarantee I'm getting more done than I would if I'd written nothing down. I've also begun waking up at 6:30am. It's really tough to drag myself out of bed (after two hits of the snooze button), but it's happening! That time before Michael and Asher wake up is so valuable. I have uninterrupted time to get so much done. It really starts my day out in an unhurried and pleasant way. I'd like to start exercising in the mornings before they wake up as well. But that won't happen until I start getting up even earlier. My goal is to wake up between 5:30 and 6:00. Before that happens, though, my evenings need to end earlier, and it's just so darn hard for me to go to bed before 11.

Here's what's been going on around here.

This was all Asher. Vehicle Puzzle Piece Parking Lot.

Picked strawberries from a friend's garden.

Found out we have hydrangeas in the backyard! (LOVE these flowers)

Picked some. :)

Think we have blackberries? Too afraid to try one.

And what are these pretty things?

Picked up some goodies from the farmer's market. Basil to plant.

Cherries to eat.

And local honey to bake with.

We're enjoying the summer so far!