Wordless Wednesday: Snow Day

Enjoying a snow day!

Stay warm out there!

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Passport to Local Farms - Completed!

Lucy and I went out this morning to fill in some of our Passport to Local Farms card.  I really wanted in on the raffle with some amazing prices so I set out to get 4 stickers from 4 farms.

Our first stop was at Elf's Garden Center in our backyard, Rochester.  We saw the chickens and alpacas and I spied some mums that are going to beautiful this fall!

Next up was a drive down to Lee and the Coppal House with their amazing corn maze.  We picked out a pumpkin, pat the horses, and then topped it off with a hayride around the field.  I can't wait to go back and attempt the maze...on a much cooler day!

Our last stop was a double whammy, we got one stamp from Warren Farm and one from Sallie's Fen Alpacas.  Sallie's Fen Alpacas was attending the Natural Heritage Agricultural Fair, hosted by Warren Farm in Barrington, NH.  What a fun time it was!  We snacked on maple soft serve from Sugarmomma, watched a potter working on a pot, Lucy had her face painted, we saw the steer pulling logs from the woods, and...Lucy's favorite part patting/handling the animals!

So did you fill up your passport?  Where did it take you?

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Famous Strawberry Cake

I made this recipe last year and we inhaled it so fast, it never made it to the blog.  I dug up this recipe again this year for Lucy's 5th birthday party.  I figured a homemade cake would be 200x better than anything store bought and this cake's taste is to die for!  You can either make this a 2-layer cake or it can yield 24 cupcakes as the original recipe title suggests.  This recipe comes from this wonderful blog: Good Things Catered.

Angie's Famous Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients:
Cake:
2 1/2 c. cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. sugar (or a little less)
2 eggs
1/3 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. chopped strawberries

Frosting
1/4 c. strawberries
1 Tbsp. strawberry liquor (or strawberry jam)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 Tbsp vanilla

Cake directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 cupcake pans.  Sift flour, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl.  In bowl of mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until combined.  Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla until combined.  Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.   Fold in berries.  Fill cupcake pans 3/4 way (or fill 2 9-in. greased/floured cake pans).  Bake for 20 minutes.

Frosting Directions:
Put berries, liquor, and juice in saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce to a simmer for 5 mins.  Let cool then blend until smooth.  In bowl of mixer mix cream cheese and butter until creamy.  Add sugar, then vanilla.  Add berry puree until smooth.  Frost cupcakes when they are completely cooled.

Don't eat all the frosting before the cake gets any!!  Enjoy!

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Wordless Wednesday: Float

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Healing Childhood Illnesses

I've mentioned a few times that my 4 year old has ADHD tendencies.  We haven't had her formally diagnosed, but just yesterday we took the steps to see a local Naturopath and get her on the healing path.

The recommendation has been made to try putting Lucy back on a gluten-free/casein-free diet for at least 6 weeks.  It has also been recommended to take out corn and peanuts as well due to their inflammatory properties. We've done GF/CF for 3 weeks before, but we need to do it longer this time to see if we can get better results as sometimes it takes a length of time for the body to heal itself.

I'm feeling a bit daunted by the task of switching her diet and making adjustments for the family as a whole.  I also need to up her dose of fish oil, and getting a 4 year old to down 1 tsp. of cod liver oil is also no easy feat!  I also will not be supplementing butter, milk etc with soy based products.  It will be a very whole foods GF/CF diet. I just purchased the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day which has a section on homemade gluten-free breads.  Slicing bread was the most difficult item to substitute when we did the diet last time.

If you're dealing with any behavioral issues with your children, I encourage you to research for yourself. These are the books that I've used to learn about healing childhood illnesses like ADHD, autism, allergies, and asthma:

• Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders
• Is This Your Child? by Doris Rapp
• Why Your Child Is Hyperactive (I've used the Feingold principles of removing food colorings and additives to reduce ADHD symptoms)

These are books that have shaped my nutritional outlook:

• Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
• Real Food: What to Eat and Why
• The Omnivore's Dilemma

If you have any encouraging words, tips on getting a 4 year old to enjoy GF/CF, GF/CF recipes or anything else, I'd love for you to leave comments!  Thanks for your support!

If you're looking for a Naturopath, check out the New Hampshire Association of Naturopathic Doctors

Information in this post is meant for educational and informational purposes only, and to motivate you to make your own health care and dietary decisions based upon your own research and in partnership with your health care provider

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Wordless Wednesday: Got Yogurt?

Remember the farm yogurt I blogged about a few days ago? See....pure bliss!

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Super Size Me, Not!

Alright, so I'm quickly approaching my LNA midterm and I'm doing well in the class!

Today we watched Super Size Me to go along with our nutrition lecture. And while I knew most of the information shared, it did infuriate me all over again and re-lit my desire to reign in my family's nutrition.

I wish we could have watched Super Size Me coupled with Food, Inc. because it's more than just the fast food industry's fault. We've take food so far away from the land, grandma wouldn't even recognize what we eat as food (come on now, twinkies, uncrustables, pizza bagels etc...)

The fast food industry is the blatant culprit of unhealthy food, but so many other foods in the supermarket are terrible for you as well. I mean, so much of the grocery store is corn when it's all said and done.

We really need to get back to the land and to eating locally produced products. Now, I'm preaching to the choir here, I've been really lame about eating locally lately. I believe The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals needs to be a reading priority on everyone's reading list. Read that book and then make your decisions about vegetarianism, local vs. sourced, grass-fed vs corn-fed, organic vs. non-organic, and raw vs. pasteurized and homogenized. It was the first book I read over a year ago and has led me on this journey of over a year now. It opened my eyes.

I have two kids, one with speech delays and one with possible autism/ADD/ADHD. I really was convicted today to get back to their needs and really get to the root of what's making them sick. While pursuing a nursing career is a noble goal, I have sick kids at home that need their momma to be their advocate for healthy, nutritious food that won't make them sick. I will also share some great books that have helped me learn about my kids and what might be going wrong (now to find a Dr. in the area who can back me up and get my kids on the healing path!):

• Is This Your Child by Dr. Doris Rapp
• Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders by Dr. Kenneth Bock and Cameron Stauth
• Raising Your Spirited Child Rev Ed: A Guide for Parents Whose Child Is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka

So sorry for the blabbering post, there's just so much on mind as to where I want to go career-wise and the needs of my family in this moment in time. It hurts me to see my kids struggling and I only wish I could take it all away from them, I wish I had the answers. I have to step up and be an advocate for my kids, I will not let them be the canary in the coal mine for future generations.

Oh yeah, it's also the October 2009 Eat Local Challenge. I just yanked a big handful of carrots from my garden and I hope to make hubby a nice carrot cake for his birthday. So do me a favor and try to find something to enjoy locally this month! :) Take care!

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Frantically Pressing the Busy Button!

Can I press my busy button? Life is about to get a whole lot more hectic in my household! I'm....going back to school! This coming Monday I start classes through the Great Bay Red Cross and I'll be going through Licensed Nurse Assistant (LNA) training for, 180 hours worth!

So, between having two preschoolers that started school this week (one goes in the morning 2x/week and the other 4x/week in the afternoons, you know, just to mix it up a bit!)...and me starting school...my plate is going to be FULL.

I know I mentioned a few weeks ago not to expect alot around this blog....the same goes for the upcoming weeks, probably until at least the end of the year. I will still be posting as I can and hope to get important events up in a timely fashion. And there's tons of great recipes posted from last fall as well. Just browse the apple recipes or use the search bar on the right of my blog. If you want any LNA (CNA in Maine) information, just drop me a line at livinglocalnh (at) gmail (dot) com.

And I guess this is the point in which I tell you that I've failed miserably in "putting by" the harvest for the impending winter season. While I do have a bit in the freezer and a moose coming in, I'm afraid I'll be at the grocery store all too often this winter. I hope you have done better than I have! But, there is a time and season for everything and right now I am doing what I can to take care of my households' immediate needs and raise two rambunctious preschoolers! So by that standard, I am thriving!

And aren't my two preschoolers darling, if I do say so myself!

Thank for all your understanding and kind words I've received in the past year! And don't worry, I'm still around and will be posting as I can. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions you think I might be able to answer or guide you in the right direction. Take care and stay warm in the coming months.

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Vintage Thingies Thursday: Baby Listens

It's been awhile since I've participated in Vintage Thingies Thursday! I recently re-found (you know those boxes of clutter in your house?) this Baby's First Book by Golden books and I just had to share. I remember when hubby and I first saw saw this book and we remarked at how much the baby in the book resembled our daughter Lucy. It was uncanny! To the right is Lucy at 9 months old.

This book is so neat because it has wipeable pages that are drool and chew-proof. I wish they made more of these types of books nowadays. Also the sweet little details of the book make it so enjoyable to read and look at. The book is copyrighted 1960. Here are a few pages from the Golden book "Baby Listens" by Eloise Wilkin:

Look at all those sweet baby rolls and the little dolly!

The text and illustrations are darling.

Look at that mixer! Does anyone know what brand of mixer that might be? This is by far my favorite page in the book.

This is the last page of the book. Doesn't it resemble my little Lucy?

Thanks for visiting my blog and be sure to check out other Vintage Thingies Thursday at Coloradolady's blog.

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Wordless Wednesday: First School Picture

Mommy bragging moment...my almost 4 year olds' first school picture (preschool)!(For more WW photos, visit Wordless Wednesday and 5 Minutes for Mom.)

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Wordless Wednesday: Upcycle

Ok, well almost wordless! Lucy and I were at The Children's Museum of NH this morning with our MOPS group. We used trash to "upcycle" and made some very fun Upcycle Art. Go find some household junk and let the kids upcycle for Earth Day!

Lucy's House

Egg Carton Bug

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Wordless Wednesday: None too pleased!

For more fun photos, visit Wordless Wednesday and 5 Minutes for Mom.

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I'm listed at...

...NH.com! Head on over and check out all things New Hampshire. Where to vacation, what to do, where to eat, where to shop, what to see, and more!

They have a wonderful blog roll that includes various NH blogs in many different categories. My blog is listed under the "All about NH" category.

I also checked out the blog "One Mother's Review" and I wanted to put a plug in for Mandy's blog! What an amazing blog full of reviews of NH activities for the kids. A vast resource of information. Head on over and check it out. I'll definitely be going through the reviews and seeing where I should be taking the kids during the long winter!

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It's a wrap!

Phew, the weekend's events are finished and now we have Sunday to rest and catch up.

We had a blast at the Apple Harvest Fest in Dover. My parents joined up with us so Steve and I got a few moments to ourselves, which is always nice. The kids were able to enjoy a few rides, pet some animals, eat ice cream and ride the ponies. I also stopped by the MOPS tent and said hello to those gals as well. Did anyone else stop by Apple Harvest Fest?

And back up to Friday night when we went to the Children's Museum of New Hampshire's free Family Fun Night. Evan had fun digging at the Dino Detective exhibit and I had fun chasing two wildly excited children! Thankfully my mom came along to help with the wrangling. And does anyone else have a child in the "non-photographic" stage? Neither want to look at me for a nice picture!

The next free Family Fun Night is scheduled for November 7th. Be sure to mark it on the calender!

I also wanted to mention that Thistle Ridge Farm in Dover, NH will be having a Family Farm Day from noon to 5 pm on Saturday October 11th. Visit Sarah's "Seacoast Eat Local" blog for more info.

And....one more reminder that Applecrest Farm Orchards in Hampton Falls, NH has weekly festivals on Saturday till the end of October. Just one more event to make the fall weekends a fun time for all. Lots of good apple recipes out there. Yum!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

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Wordless Wednesday: Rochester Fair

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Haha, just kidding!

We did make it over to the Lee Country Fair! I actually went over alone in the morning to just visit the farmer's market and snag some of Tina's (Pinewoods Yankee Farm) ground beef. Once I got there though, I realized how great it was and how much fun my two monkeys would have.

So after naps the whole family packed up and headed back to the fair. We enjoyed patting the donkeys (isn't that guy cute?), checking out the chickens and turkeys, watching the balloon lady, eating fried dough, buying some more local honey and running in the field! Enjoy a few goofy pics...

Evan all ready for the fair (yes you can be a tough 2 yr. old with a love-y!)We're in a "no smile for the camera" stage with Lucy, but she's still cuteIn the stroller

It really was great for the kids and great grounds for walking with the stroller. Did anyone else get a chance to stop by?

Our next event will be the Rochester Fair. We'll probably be visiting the fair on Tuesday, September 16th because it's only $2 for admission from 12-3 pm and $1 kiddie rides. It's a great day to go and stretch that dollar, especially if you have children. Wednesday that week is Rochester Day where it's only $4 admission for all. Typically the kiddie rides don't open till 3 pm, so the Tuesday schedule works best for our family's schedule. I'll post more about this event as it nears. Let me know if you're thinking of going and maybe we can meet up!

In closing I'll leave you with this goofy picture of Lucy and me at the fair today.

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