September's Cheapest Fruits and Vegetables

What type of nutritious foods are you cooking up with this season's fruits and veggies?  We are loving the end of the summer produce.  Nectarines are impossible to keep in our house.  And we've been making tons of chicken salad with tomatoes and cucumbers.  That's been a huge standby dinner for us in these warm months.  As we're rolling into the fall, I'm craving comfort food, but I still want to hang on to my budget and my health.

So here's September's Cheapest Fruits and Vegetables:
Grapes
Pomegranates
Persimmons
Eggplants
Pumpkins
Tomatoes
Spinach
Lettuce

I think I'm a little stumped this month.  I'll be posting a spinach recipe later this month, and probably my eggplant lasagna as well.  And I love pumpkin, but I don't know what to do with it beyond baking.  So where do I go from here?

I need some help.  So help me out here; post some recipes for me.  What are you cooking up?

Don't forget to check out this week's giveaway!

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An Afternoon on Wheels

We had an afternoon of first today.  And boy, did we have a great time.  

Noah's school did an afternoon skate at the local skating rink and crazy me, I thought I'd take the kids.  Wow!  I'm glad I didn't but I am exhausted.  What was I thinking, putting skates on a 4 year old and a two year old?  And to top it all off, I had to have skates to be out there with them.  Me?  In skates?  

I haven't even been in a skating rink since college (over ten years ago).  And I haven't been in a rink on skates since some time in junior high.  Rollerblades on the street certainly aren't the same thing.  Wow!

It was tough getting us all settled in to what we were doing, but eventually we got the hang of it.  I took them each out on the rink one at a time.  Noah was all over the place and Lydia said she wasn't doing it again.  But when we all relaxed, Noah took off on his own and Lydia was content to skate around the benches, eventually letting go near the end.

Here's my little man watching the limbo contest.

Making a mad dash for the side.

Lydia taking a break to watch the action.

And a moment of her actually on her feet.

And we have success!

All in all it was a great afternoon, and I've hardly heard a peep out of them since I put them to bed.

How long has it been since you were skating?


Don't forget to check out this week's giveaway!

52 First Dates: Week Twelve

I had to throw in a photo of my honey and I.

This was our wedding photo taken over nine year ago!

Crazy... we were so young.

So how did your One Word experiment go?  Were there any surprises?  There were some fun words in there huh?  I have to admit that we were a bit stumped on some of them and wanted to give further explanation for our answers.  We found ourselves laughing pretty hard in the end.  This one was a lot of fun and one that I'd love to do again.  I think as we go through every stage in our lives, answers will change.  People will change.  And that's what makes some of these 52 First Dates so great.  They can be easily adapted to ages and stages of life.  Rich, poor, young, old... we can all find ways to invest in our marriages.

Are you ready for the next one?

This one is a bit more serious, but oh, so important.  I'm not one to easily express my emotions.  My husband is actually much better at giving me hugs and saying he loves me.  But even then, we have times where it just goes unsaid and we start to resent the time that's passed.

So your challenge this week is to write a love letter to your spouse.  It doesn't have to be long (but do put some effort into it).  It doesn't have to be mushy (but it should be sincere).  And be real with how you care for that person.  Remember the specific ways they've made you feel loved.  Mention the little things that remind you how much you love them.  Speak in your authentic voice.

Now you can take this one as far as you want to, but I would suggest reading them out loud to each other over dinner or dessert.  Love letters are incredible, but try to read them to each other and they become even more powerful.

Are you up for the challenge?

Check back in and let us know how your dates are going.  Anything new you've learned?  Leave a comment or check out the Facebook Event Page and let us know how you're doing.

And don't forget to check out this week's giveaway!

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School Time Sandwiches

The school year is here and it's lunch packing time once again.  And if you're anything like me, you probably tired of the ole peanut butter and jelly.  I don't think my kids will ever out grow it, but I certainly have.  I need something new, something tasty, and something to shake it up a bit.

And it has to be nutritious!  If there's anything I want to give my kids, it's the ability to try new foods and always evaluate what's going into their body.  I truly want to give them the gift of good health.

So we're finding new ways to accomplish that.  These are just a few of them:

Sandwiches:

*BLAT'S: Like I said yesterday, this is my new favorite sandwich... whole wheat bread, a little REAL butter, bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado and sprouts.  I kept the lettuce off, but everything else was a wonderful combination.

*Peanut Butter and Jelly (obviously): We substitute the cheap peanut butter for Adam's or the freshly ground peanuts and use homemade jelly or homemade apple butter.

*Veggie Quesadillas: Quesadillas are an easy choice for lunch and we load ours with olives, tomatoes, artichokes, bell pepper, green onion, everything we can cram in there.  And the cheese seals it all together to make it perfect for a school lunch.

*Granny Smith Quesadillas: Some yummy melted swiss cheese and granny smith apples make these quesadillas smooth and tart.  Perfect contrast.

*Turkey Club Wrap: Whole Wheat wrap or tortilla filled with some nitrate free turkey, tomato, cheese, lettuce, and smoothed out with spicy brown mustard.

*Jazzed Up Tuna: Basic tuna is easy.  So start with the basics: tuna, mustard, and a little mayo.  Chop up some celery and onion.  Toss in some slivered almonds and cranberries.  And season with a little lemon pepper.  Plus there's your fish recipe.  Very yummy!

So what are you cooking up in your kitchen?  And stay tuned for more lunch ideas coming soon!

Don't forget to check out this week's giveaway!
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*Linked to Weekend Bloggy Reading

Giveaway: Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family

I'm not sure when it was that this book came on my radar.  But the more I mulled it over in my mind, the more I knew I had to read this one.  With two kids in my house, I can't imagine what it must take to manage a household of 12.  Honestly, most days, I feel like I can use all the help I can get.  I had to pick it up.

A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family is written by Mary Ostyn, fellow blogger @ OwlHaven.  As the mother of 10, her book is packed full of tips for stretching the budget, breaking the supermom mold, and balancing time constraints with all all those hearts to touch.  Ostyn sets out to show us that large families are not only possible, but enjoyable.  One of my favorite features of this book was the interspersed comments from other parents integrated into the text.

The last few chapter were the most interesting to me.  Using effective consequences and developing sibling friendships are at the top of our priorities these days and the areas we struggle in the most.  These two chapters alone made the entire book worth it to me.

Since I've been so blessed with this book, I'd like to pass it on to a reader.  Interested in winning?

Here's how to enter:

Required actions:

1. Become a public Creative2xmom follower.

AND

2. Go to OwlHaven and come back to comment on what you like.

Additional entries:

After completing the above actions, you can earn additional entries in the giveaway by doing any or all of the following:

1. Blog about this giveaway on your blog linking to this post and to OwlHaven.

2. Tweet or facebook this giveaway (may do once for each action).

3. Become a follower of facebook page, which ever you didn't do above.

4. Link up to Made by Me Monday

You have until midnight Sept 6th to enter. Leave me a separate comment for each entry. One winner will be chosen at random and I'll announce the results on Sept. 7th.  Good luck!

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