Preparing dinner and giveaway results!

First off, sorry for not drawing a name on Friday. My bro and his family are out here visiting from Idaho and our days have been full of fun-ness and activity.

Friday we butchered our no-longer-laying hen. We were slaughtering virgins, but we are no more. It was quite the experience. I think the fact that she wasn't a meat chicken and was a year-and-a-half old made from some tough chicken. It was more like chicken jerky. And oh, the term "running around like a chicken with her head cut off" is really just barely an exaggeration. That girl was practically chasing me without her head on. It may not have been actual running, but it was definitely aggressively flopping. My bro was actually the one to cut her head off. Nothing like some good ol' family bonding! I'll be posting pics soon.

And now, the results of the giveaway (Superman helped me out):

Congratulations, Essie! Just send me your e-mail address and I'll send you your Amazon gift!

Life Flies By, So I'll Do A Giveaway!

Superman has already been on summer break for two weeks. Tell me, how did that happen? I think having kids makes time go faster. And I really mean that. There must be some sort of crazy quantum physics/time warp thing going on. Because I'm sure that the last two weeks have only been two days.

At any rate, since we just had a time warp, I've missed blogging for a few weeks.
Superman and I had an incredible trip to San Francisco to celebrate our upcoming 12th anniversary. It's amazing what a little over 24 hours away from children can do for the soul.

We saw "Wicked" and even though Superman was asking if we could leave early before we even sat down, he ended up really liking it!

We took a tour of 'Cisco on Segways. Seriously worth the $70/person. It was probably one of the most fun outings we've done together. I was a little worried that my uncoordinated self would fall off {ungracefully}, but I made it through without any incidents.

We walked Fisherman's Wharf and hung out at Union Square and just really enjoyed each others' company.

Mr. C was the proud owner of our family's first black eye. He got a good shiner after running full speed ahead into a metal gun that shoots balls out at a birthday party.


I mean, really, is that not the prettiest shade of purple you ever did see?


Mr. C was pretty proud of his eye for a few days, but he got a little tired of everyone asking what happened. Luckily, he had his seventh birthday to look forward to! Can't believe he's already 7...


We celebrated the first day of summer vacation by doing...what else? Eating!

We spent all last week at our church's Vacation Bible School. There were over 800 kids there, and Superman and I were in charge of handing out Otter Pops. I don't think I need to cut anymore wrappers any time soon...although I do have quite the system down. The kids had a blast.


And Father's Day was a success at our home. The boys made daddy a card that truly spoke to his heart:


...And I gave him a mandarin tree to plant since his last one was a casualty of a big wind storm a few months ago. I did, however, make sure he knew that I loved him by displaying my undying affection for him on myself:


I finished reading "In Defense of Food" and "Farm City." The latter of which, I must say, is now one of my favorites.

And so, that brings me to my giveaway! After being gone from my poor little blog for a few weeks, I noticed I've passed the "50 followers" mark! Amazon has become my new co-best friend (shared with my Kindle). I wanted to share a little of that love. To celebrate, I'm giving away a $20 gift card for Amazon.com!

Just leave me a comment and you're entered! I'll be drawing a name on Friday.

The Organic {summer} Life

This past week has been filled with a hint of summer. The weather has been pretty much anything but summer, yet our family life has been filled with the lazy, work-in-the-yard, fruit-and-ice-cream joys of the hot season.

We recently acquired one of the coolest free things I have ever received:

Our kids have since been constantly dreaming up wars, having secret meetings and even shooting BB guns (with daddy, of course) from the window of the fort, popping perfectly-placed water balloons.

We wrapped up school for the year, and celebrated with face painting, doughnuts, and a delicious cheese pizza from the Whole Foods cafe. The kids frolicked in the warm sun that happened to be peeking through the clouds that day and thoroughly enjoyed racing on scooters and helping me tend to our slowly-growing tomatoes.

M-Dog was stung by this icky-looking bee. We made sure to give it a proper burial...into the bottom of my shoe. I know, I know...don't alert PETA. The bee started it.

I've been on an organic kick lately. Although the more books I read, the less likely I feel that it's just a "kick." My Kindle has taken over my free time, beckoning me to read, read, read. I suppose it's not a bad thing, although Superman may start to get jealous if I continue on with this fervor for an inanimate object.

I've finished "Fast Food Nation," "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," and just started "The Omnivore's Dilemma." I'm sure my fellow conservatives are clenching their nervous fists as I liberalize my mind. =)

All this reading about what I am putting into my body (and the bodies of the little munchkins running around our house) has really made me more aware. It's actually been an exciting challenge to eat as much locally-grown, organic food as possible. We joined a CSA for this month, picking up a weekly box of fruits and vegetables; grown so close, they're practically in our back yard. I'm embarrassed to admit that the past few weeks, I have cooked Kale, Pea Shoots, Chard, Arugula and a host of other produce I have never even eaten. But it's been nothing short of enlightening. This morning I picked up this week's box and was giddy as a dog waiting for its puppy chow while I opened it. You see, each week is a surprise. And this was what I saw when I carefully pulled each fresh, crisp item out:

So surprisingly delicious!

On the adoption front, we are thoroughly enjoying the joys of being a completed family. And the further we get away from the day we signed papers, the more I forget about the uncertainties of life before.

Four more days of work for Superman, and then he joins the rest of us at home for more than two months. Oh, summer, how I squirm for you!