Simplicity.

There is a simple comfort in making something yourself from scratch.  Even when it is uncomplicated.  No, it does not have to be an apple pie, or a Thanksgiving turkey.  This comfort can be  as simple as coffee creamer.  I have a guilty pleasure that exists in coffee creamer.  Vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, each adding an intoxicating nudge of goodness to my morning lifeline of coffee.  I often find myself telling Franklin the phrase "a little goes a long ways.”  From paint to glue, or even kindness, even the smallest bit can make something good even better.  And there is something extra special about that little bit of goodness being so simple.  Uncomplicated.  Pure.  After reading the ingredients that went into my store bought coffee creamer (there were nearly a dozen!  A dozen!)  I decided to make my own.  I narrowed the ingredients down to four.  Four ingredients that I could pronounce, and could find growing in its natural form if I wanted to.  So tonight this delicious pure and simple goodness sits in my refrigerator waiting the morning, that will come much too soon.

Vanilla Coffee Creamer

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup honey

2 tbsp pure vanilla

1 quart half-and-half

In a medium pot mix brown sugar, honey and vanilla together over medium low heat only until sugar melts.  Do not over heat or cream will not mix well. 

Turn heat off and leave pot on burner while whisking in half-and-half.

Store in glass container in fridge and enjoy! 

*Original recipe found at http://www.liverenewed.com/2010/07/homemade-vanilla-coffee-creamer.html 

We went to visit the farm today.  Daddy is at a conference all weekend and we needed to get out of the house! One of our neighbors invited us to tag along on their weekly trip to the farm, so we jumped at the chance to go.  Have I mentioned I have the greatest neighbors ever?  Well I do.  We live in student family housing and it is basically like living in a commune. Our back doors all face each other and we share a large "backyard".  We borrow flour and gather together for hours each day while our children play together. Grow up together really.  Some families only stay a year, and it is always hard to say goodbye.  But others, like us, are here for the first half decade of our children's lives.  They learn to walk together, go through the "terrible" twos together (or as I like to call them the "discovering their voice twos :) and sometimes even start school together.  I have grown so accustomed to raising my  children in this community I am a little afraid to ever live anywhere else.  Luckily we still have quite a while before we have to :-)

Ode to the Postnatal Workout

I did my first real work out since the baby last night.  I remember why it is such a thing now.  The first work out after having a baby is like admitting your ready to ditch the maternity yoga pants (Ok may be not ditch them, but cut it down to like twice a week).  Now do not get me confused with one of those super workout women who lose all their baby weight in like 5 minutes.  I am not one of those ladies who run because it's "relaxing" or treat carbs like the plague.  I have to force myself to run, and bread and I are soul mates.  I do not work out to be a size "2" again (have not actually been one since I was like seven), neither do I feel the need to be.  The extra belly is kind of like a badge of honor, like "Yeah I carried a human being in my abdomen, what of it?!”  Although I would like to feel cute in my "little black dress" again, it is not my main motivation.  Truthfully, those 30 minutes of blaring the Black Eyed Peas on my iPod while gliding on the elliptical behind the 20 year old Angelina Jolie look alike who is also probably a rocket scientist (like for reals since its at the Stanford gym), turns out is a pretty alright way to get some "me time".  So, here's to me keeping up the workout and not ditching it for some "me time" at the ice cream shop instead...

Raspberries or Worms?

For some reason or another it is impossible for my little family of four to get out of the house in under two hours time.  Impossible.  Trust me we have tried.  Each Sunday we plan to get to the farmers market early. Early so we can start the rest of our day, and early so that we are back in time for Franklin to nap at a regular time.  We have yet to ever meet this goal.  Instead, somehow, no matter how  hard we try, we barley make it out of the house by noon (keep in mind the farmers market here closes at 1pm, which I don't  get, but whatever), often passing our neighbors on their way back home with bike baskets filled with goodies as we are barley making our way there.  I have often envied families who have dinner by 6:00 p.m. and have the kids in bed by 8:00.  No matter how hard we try, we just are not that family.  The other day, Nick said something that put me at ease about our time situation, and I haven't worried much about it since.  He said we are who we are and it works for us.  So I am going to embrace my little family that takes forever and a day to get ready.  We may not eat dinner until 8:30 p.m. most nights, but by golly we do it together!  Oh yes, back the original point of this post.  Due to our inability to get to the farmers market early this morning we arrived shortly before everyone started packing up thus scoring us this 1/2 flat of raspberries for the closing time bargain price of $10!  So the early bird may get the worm, but the late one gets the raspberries.  And I don't know about you, but I would rather the later.