Liv's Leek Soup

Tuesday is movie day at our house. Our girls don't usually watch T.V. but they do get to feast their eyes on cartoons one day a week. I like to sneak downstairs and enjoy some uninterrupted time sewing or reading. Today I suntanned for a bit and then they had other plans. Ivy found Caillou boring,and after her first show Liv popped into the kitchen and said , "Mom - I want some leek soup. Can I make it?" Oh my Lord! Following a brief stunned silence I stammered, "Yeah sure... of course.... ummm...lets do it!" This is the child who has been asking me daily for ice cream , popsicles, and gum all summer. I could hardly believe my ears! So cook leek soup we did! It was so fun, easy and healthy that I thought I'd pass on the recipe.

Liv cut the two leeks, washed them, and sliced them into tiny slivers.


She then fried them in olive oil and butter in a big pot.


When they were nice and soft she added three cups of water and one cup of chicken broth.

Finally she added a handful of parsley, and a teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

Et Voila! Lovely leek soup! It really was that easy and tasty. Oh...what's that you say... you love my vintage table cloth? Why thank-you for noticing! Just a little something I thrifted this weekend ( for a disgustingly low price ) that I can't get enough of. Hope you are enjoying the last days of summer wherever you are!

Getting messy

It' s been a busy week. I haven't quite stopped my decorating frenzy - I painted another room blue and Liv's a very light pink. The bathroom is next on my agenda, and then the bookshelf, Liv's desk, the windowsills, the kitchen cupboards.... well we'll see how much of this I actually accomplish. I've also been busy reorganizing cupboards, craft supplies, my sewing room, and the kids toys.

I noticed something this week that I found kind of exciting. On Monday I did a major overhaul of the craft cupboard and Liv's desk. In the process I had all of the art supplies strewn all over the kitchen- I mean not a inch of space was unoccupied on the floor or counters. When it could hardly get any messier, my kids went into this intensely creative mode and just started moving from one activity to the next with hardly any involvement from me. They were beading for a while and then they moved onto painting.


When painting had been explored to its fullest they moved onto platicine (hmm ... what is that stuff made of...do I want to know?) and from there they did stamping, and then coloring. It wasn't long before the big bottle of glue was out and wonderful things were being made.


Liv named this boat Diamond and had a great time blowing it around the bathtub with a fan. Derek came home at noon and just looked around in disbelief. We don't often get this messy. I was reminded of a homeschooling article I read a while back in which the author/mother talked about a method she used of inspiring her children to do interesting things which she called "strewing." She leaves all kinds of interesting things lying around and lets her kids get involved with them when and if they choose to. I can see from the fun my kids had this week how this could really inspire some interesting projects. Now if I only had a maid to clean up all the mess...

Swimming

We had the most beautiful evening at the beach last night. We went down to Jade Bay in Kal Park and had the beach to ourselves. It was dusk and a bit cool but the water was beautiful and so clean.

I watched a birthing video this week about women who give birth in the Black Sea - that's right - I said in the Black Sea. The women at this Russian birth camp swim with their babies on their backs from a very early age and these babies are so at home in the water. I mean they were swimming - really swimming at less than a year. I was inspired to try swimming with my girls on my back to see if that would help them feel more comfortable in the water. Liv has always been a little afraid but wants to swim so badly. Ivy has less fear but still hesitates a little. Anyhow - I tried it out and it was so cool! They loved it and I can see how regular practice could teach them to swim pretty fast. They can see my strokes from where they are perched, their legs were kicking with mine, and their bodies were parallel to the surface of the water instead of perpendicular to it like they are in a floaty.

It made me realize how much fear and tension I usually bring into the water with my girls. I usually hold Ivy above the surface and gently dip in careful not to startle her or get water on her face. I know Ivy would be fine in the water, but my handling of her suggests otherwise. I wonder how much of my fear and protectiveness is passed on to her? If I am protective the conclusion she must draw is that she is not safe. If she feels that she is not safe and becomes tense and panicky in the water, she won't be safe. So maybe the key if for me to believe in their natural ability to swim and guide them into it without fear.

In love with blue

I've had this thing for blue lately. It's not a color I usually wear or decorate with but lately I'm drawn to it. I've been finding blues I love everywhere and obsessing about the right shades - seriously spending a lot of time thinking about it. So this weekend I decided to do something about it (or to put it more accurately I decided to get Derek to do something about it). We painted our bedroom in the most peaceful pale blue with a good dose of gray and a touch of green. I LOVE it! It looks awesome with the cobalt blue patchwork quilt I bought in Guatemala ten years ago so I will have to give that quilt the tlc it needs. I guess I'm nesting really early this time. I can't stop thinking about all the decorating I want to have done before the baby comes this winter. Or maybe it's not nesting - maybe I'm much more realistic now about how little time I'll have on my hands next year. I don't want to have unpainted windowsills driving me nuts when I won't be able to do a thing about them.

I remember when I was pregnant with Liv - pondering which hobbies I should take up to keep me entertained on my maternity leave. What a laugh! It seemed like an effort just to put a potato in the oven for my meal - crafting was out of the question. Anyhow - now I know and hopefully being really tied down and depended on won't be so hard this time around.

Look at these lovely things with their Mr. Freezy stained mouths. Scary isn't it? We don't often indulge them in pure junk .... ok maybe more than we should but hopefully not enough to hurt them. I can't imagine a life without the odd slushy or frozen popsicle.

That's all for now - I'm off to finish my new beach bag. You know I used to go to the beach with just a towel... well those days are gone. Now as we head for our favorite spot it looks like we are settlers ready to stake out our new territory. It's ridiculous the amount of stuff we take for a few hours at the beach. So a huge new beach bag was needed and will be done for tonights swim at the beach. Have a happy week everyone. Here's a song I love - I hope you enjoy it.