a fun morning at home

With Micah in Rockford spending time with grandparents this week, I'm getting in some special time with the two babies of the family.

I promised Josiah we would make real lemonade today. He insisted on trying a bite of lemon, and seemed to like it just fine. I notice in the picture his mouth is a bit puckered.

Smash the slices, stir it up; a great job for busy hands. Thanks to my friend for sharing this recipe with us. Next time we'll try it with her secret ingredient (limes). Josiah didn't care for the pulp, so maybe we'll use the juicer, too.

After reading numerous studies linking behavorial concerns to food additives, we're eating a bit differently around here lately. Once again, my cook was at my side to help with homemade waffles.

We'd had breakfast an hour ago, but Josiah insisted on a sample and ate the entire thing, topped with real maple syrup.

Next we went out to the garden before the sun got too hot. I never expected it to be such a hit. The kids went back and forth, dropping their freshly picked tomatoes and green beans in a bowl. Rachel squealed with delight, "Mom, look at the pickles!" Sure enough, we had several large cucumbers ready for picking. Josiah helped me weed and pick blighted leaves off our tomato plants.

"This one is big, Mommy!"

For Josiah, the fun stops with the picking. At the table, he won't touch vegetables. But Rachel was so excited about the beans she immediately cleaned and prepared enough for our lunch. We blanched the rest for the freezer.