Cute Video. Requires Explanation

OK so upon first glance, this video simply looks like we are torturing our baby. However, he demands to read Llama Llama Red Pajama over and over, even though this happens:

I guess he loves the suspense??

Ducks gone wild!

Just kidding. Actually they were freakishly tame. They were at Gateway Trail off Medical Center.

A friend of mine showed me this park the other day, so this morning, Jack said "Mother dear, shall we go feed the ducks?" and so of course I said "Yes darling, let us away." So we took a couple of pieces of stale bread and headed out. Let me repeat. We only had a couple of pieces of bread!!

So we get there, and there are like 3 or 4 fat ducks sitting on a rock, and so we start feeding them. And then this happened:

They were EVERYWHERE!! There were like 15 behind me when I was taking this, and like 15 more out of view the sides. Oh yea. And 3 ducks eating crumbs off my FEET! Jack was mesmerized.

Not gonna lie here, when I ran out of bread I was a little nervous. But, they just all stood there staring at me expectantly for a few seconds and then disbanded, as quickly as they had gathered.

Loved it!

Beet "Cookies" and more

So I was getting bored with the standard baby finger food, so I decided to make cookies (read: soft crackers) out of vegetables. My first attempt was beet cookies. It's actually been a week or so since I did it, so I might not remember exactly what I did :/

I started out with a beet, and a reeeeally old banana. Also, in a separate bowl I mixed together 1 c. whole wheat flour and 1/2 tsp. baking powder. But that's boring so there's no picture of that :)

I peeled the beet, and steamed it for like 20+ minutes, until it was tender. Warning! Beet juice is a violent purple color, and you shouldn't wear something that you then want to wear in public when you are messing with beets.

Pureed it in the blender with the banana (I had to add a negligible amount of water)

I then mixed the beet and banana with an egg in my mixer until they were mixed together. Then I added the flour mix. It seemed runny still, so I added more flour (this was a mistake, as I later found out)

Then, I baked them for like 12-15 minutes at 350 til they were done. (Done= no longer wet-looking, and are firm around the edges, but not brown)

The verdict? They tasted OK, they were a little flour-y tasting and you couldn't taste much beetiness. Jack loved them, but then again he loves cat food too, so you can't count on him as having anything close to a refined palette. I think I could have gotten away with not adding the extra flour, I just chickened out.

I ALSO made these http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/vegetable-cookies. I just decided to link to hers because her pictures are better. However, I did 3 main things differently: I used sharp cheddar (who just has gouda laying around the house, really?); I was not generous with the salt, because they were for a baby; and, I did not bake them for as long as stated so that they would be soft. These actually were really yummy, and Jack absolutely loved them. More than cat food!

Homemade Yogurt

It's delicious. It's SUPER easy.

All you need is a half gallon of whole milk, some plain yogurt, a slow cooker, and time. Check it out:

Add the milk to your slow cooker. Cook it on low for 2 and a half hours. Let it sit, unplugged with the lid on, for 3 more hours.

When the 3 hours is up, dip 2 cups of milk out into a separate bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of yogurt-- make sure it's yogurt with live & active cultures. Pour it back into the slow cooker.

Wrap it up with towels-- I used 2 hand towels around the middle, and covered it all with 2 bath towels. Let it sit 8 hours, or overnight (I actually fell asleep when I meant to take it out last night and it sat out overnight, plus like 6 hours haha!)

Line a colander with coffee filters (or cheesecloth or something like that) and place it in a large bowl. Spoon the yogurt into this contraption and let it drain for 3 hours or so (The longer you drain, the thicker the yogurt). And yes, I did stick my finger in it to taste it :-)

When the time is up, just spoon it into containers. Or eat some, because it's YUMMY! (What is that in the bowl???? It's not what it looks like :P It's whey, and it's mentioned later.)

My batch was a little grainy, but just stir it up and it'll be fine. It also wasn't as tart as store bought (which is good for me), but that is a variable of what sort of milk and yogurt you buy. I have heard that locally made yogurt is the best kind to use.

Is it a time saver? No. Is it a money saver? It can be. I am not much into the organic side of things, simply because the prices can get absurd. It cost me about 3 dollars to make it. I got 4 cups of yogurt, and I can use 1/2 cup of it to make the next batch. The only thing I'd have to buy is the milk, which I always have anyway because I'm a milk crackhead. If you use non or low fat milk, you can add 1/4 cup dry milk powder when you add the starter yogurt to thicken it. Anyway, for me, it's cheaper. You can eat it plain, add honey or fruit, use it in place of sour cream, you can spread it on a bagel instead of cream cheese, etc. etc.

And you get a bunch of whey, which you don't get with store bought yogurt. Obviously. (Whey would I want it? Check out this link http://faithfulprovisions.com/2010/03/31/whey-cool-uses-for-whey/)

I mean, I guess you could just read her post on homemade yogurt too, because that's where I got the idea from. Haha.

If you try it, let me know how yours turns out! I think I'm gonna go have some with my lunch. Mmmmm yogurt love!

Cutest/Saddest Ever

No, not a crying panda. But close

Today for lunch, Jack had some broccoli/green bean puree I had made and some of the Gerber Lil' Crunchies. They're basically baby cheetos. I gave him a couple of those while I was waiting for the puree to thaw in the microwave, and when I sat down with him to feed him the greens, I moved the crunchies out of the way and scooped up a spoonful of the good stuff, and he freaked out!

This is significant because this is the very first time he had ever cried at the sight of food. But he ate the spoonful. Then he cried. So I put a crunchie in front of him, and he gobbled it up immediately. I scooped up a spoonful of the puree. He cried. He ate it. I put down a crunchie, and he was ecstatic, and ate it like he was starving. This continued the entire meal. Anytime he would even SEE the green beans/broccoli, he would burst into tears. But he would eat the bite, sobbing the whole way through each and every last one. It. Was. Pitiful. But also, hilarious, because, WHAT?

The moral of the story is, even if Jack thinks something is disgusting, he will eat it because he is tubby. Baby love!

Warning: Squishy Gooey Love

I promise that I won't do this often, but today is our 2nd anniversary. We have had some really fun times together, and I can't imagine my life without him. First of all because he is my best friend, but also, without him I would have no Jack. Here some more reasons I love him:

1. He does the laundry. Yes, all the time. I know, scary, right?

2. He scoops the cat litter. This I do have to ask him to do sometimes, but hey, nobody's perfect.

3. He happily changes poopy diapers.

4. He tries really hard not to laugh when I am crying about something ridiculous. But then he always makes me laugh and I stop crying.

5. He is super cute :)

6. He is not afraid to apologize

7. He is not afraid to ask me to apologize.

8. He helps me to be a better person.

9. He lets me help him to be a better person.

10. He is a wonderful daddy :)

I could go on and on, but I don't want anyone to barf, I'll just give you a cute picture to end gracefully :P

Me too!

It has been suggested to me several times to start a blog. I picked the name "for the love of it all" because there are many things that I love. I love my family, I love to experiment in the kitchen, I love my job, and I love my friends. All of these things will probably end up on here at one point or another, so I hope you can find something here to love :)