Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Our Tiny Beach

The weather here has been gross.  I dislike extremes of weather.  40-80 degrees are about as extreme as I like things.  This summer, the weather has been H.O.T.  And now, there are fires. Usually we can see the foothills from our porch.  This has been our view, more or less, for a couple of weeks. 


Needless to say, we haven't ventured out in awhile.  We have tried one short walk and it was just too gross.  This morning I was tired of it and decided Rico needed a beach break.  A very tiny beach break.  He was given sand for his birthday and his great-grandparents brought him some shells (they live on the coast in Washington).  He has been very interested in hiding, things being hidden, animals hiding, Deddy hiding...you get the picture.  I hid the shells in the sand for him to find and as he pulled them out we felt them, carefully, and he had his first lesson in smooth and bumpy textures.  He REALLY liked this activity.  After the shells were out I let him work on his own. 








It wouldn't be the beach without "iced tea"...raspberry leaf tea!


Like the outfit?  He picks them himself!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Popcorn Bopping




Yes, cheesy title...BUT listen up!

I was looking around the internet, for interesting things for my calling (Primary Chorister) and I found this awesome CD.  Yes, it is called Popcorn Bopping.  Rico loves fun dance music and this sets 13 primary songs to fun music.  I thought I was going to have to make fun of it but really, they did a good job.  You can hear the songs here:

http://deseretbook.com/Popcorn-Bopping-Dance-Along-Mixes-Favorite-Kids-Songs-Compilation/i/5058095

I will be purchasing this soon!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Green Drink

Tomato tomahto comes to mind when I hear women say they drink green drink.  I always get very excited thinking they are talking about the same thing that I learned to make from my mother-in-law.  Most women refer to their spinach/kale/green smoothie as green drink.  I do not.  I refer to that as our smoothies, which are really good too.  The green drink that is referred to in the title is a drink made with herbs. 

The reason for the drink is to get as much chlorophyll from the herbs as well as their vital nutrients and minerals.  Our green drink does not include quite as many things as my mother-in-laws because...we live in a townhouse.  I long for the day when I can have my herbs placed in between beautiful flowers so that they'll look prettier and grow more abundantly.  I have not listed every single thing that is in every herb, nor have I listed all of the wonderful things these herbs can do for your body.  If you want to know more about a specific herb, google it, and use a reputable source (possibly someone that has used and/or studied the herb for a long time!).  Also keep in mind that the nutrients in herbs easily assimilate AND if you don't need them, your body will flush them.  They work they way they were made to work...imagine that!

Things you need for green drink:

Herbs of your choice, which can include:
Comfrey, Calcium, magnesium, vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Phosphorus...etc. Astringent, helps with stomach problems, builds strong bones and teeth! Worried about comfrey? Read this.
Plantain: Calcium, Vitamin C, Blood Cleaner
Burdock: Blood Cleaner
Dandelion: Calcuim, vitamin A, C, blood cleaner
Wild Lettuce a.k.a the weeds growing in your grass that are not prickly
Filaree: Vitamin A, woman's herb, but can be used by anyone
Catnip: Stomach problems (think gas and bloating), may help morning sickness, soothing herb
Marshmallow: Soothing herb
Alfalfa: Full range of vitamins, calcium, manganese, magnesium
MINT: To make it taste good! Vitamin C, iron

Pineapple juice (You can use another juice. HOWEVER, and this is according again to my mother-in-law, the pineapple juice helps assimilate the herbs into the body.  It is the best carrier juice out there and is actually a good juice for the body)
Cheesecloth
Pitcher


Pick which herbs you'd like, let it soak in a bowl of water while you get the blender out.  Rinse off the herbs put them in a blender and almost cover them with water.  Blend.  Use the cheese cloth to strain out the chopped leaves, or leave them in if you can stand the thicker drink (I can, Rico doesn't like it as much).  Make sure you squeeze out as much of the green liquid as you can.  Mix in the pineapple juice and serve.  Also, throw your chopped herbs back in the garden.  It completes the circle (we take what we need and give the rest back to the Earth!--sounds a little bit like a hippie, but Heavenly Father gave us this wonderful Earth, I do what I can and Rico loves pouring it back out). 

My "herb garden" (it is fuller now!):

Plantain, comfrey, burdock, mint

Mint, lemon balm, mint, catnip, marshmallow, strawberry




Our Version of a Watertable