Creative Hearth

Ok, so I am a rookie gardener. I am starting really small and hopefully in a few years I will have a full veggie garden where we can produce all of our own veggies and fruits we love. Here is the first of my goodies. Scrumptious and juicy heirloom tomatoes to eat in our variety of salads I have been creating as I posted on creative Tuesday. 

I recently stumbled upon this book, which I had read when Ayden was younger and when I worked with families and their children in my Art Therapy practice. I have read a lot of parenting books ranging from a behavioral approaches, to spiritual approaches, and psychoanalytic approaches. And I found this book in particular to be an easy, well understood book that speaks to all parents. I do feel that now I have my own 4 year old the book takes on a different meaning for me. This book can be read over and over and you can find new ways and interpretations to fit into your life. There were some things I did not agree totally with, but that is due to my own beliefs and yours may be different. You can pick and choose what you agree with, but I believe you will be left feeling more confident and powerful as a parent. And, you will walk away having a greater appreciation for your self and your little ones. 

My creative project this week is a joint creative project with my husband and the workmen who redid the outside of our house. This was exciting, yet had it's moments. Lots of quick decisions and lots of noise. As well as invasion in our home, but it was all worth it. We still need to paint the new door, get new outdoor lighting, a new mail box, and our address numbers. 

Pictures on the left were taken when we bought the house still decorated by former resident. The screen door had no screen on the top, it was completely open. Our new door has glass with wrought iron scroll work inside, and the awning is no longer there.

This was during construction in the back of the house. We had a new door put in, new windows, and shutters are gone, as well as wiring redone. 

Spring has arrived. As we come out of hibernation from the very challenging Winter of cold, snow, and rain, we slowly enter the outdoors again. It has been a time of going inwards and now is the time to go outwards. And as this transition occurs there is so much to see...life, beauty,  abundance, and growth.

These past few weeks I have been working on a couple of projects for my little boy who turned 1 on Monday. One of the projects is a video montage of Quinn's first year of life. I am adding the music now, and I hopefully will complete the project by Sunday when we will celebrate with family and friends. The other project is a simple banner with Quinn's name on it made out of felt. I just cut the letters out and glued them on. Now I am attempting to hand sew each one, which is a little bit more challenging that I had intended. I am using a tapestry needle because I felt it would look better with a larger hole, but the needle is so thick it is impossible to get through the 2 layers of felt. Ooops. 

Budding Trees

My converse shoes with no socks!

NO MORE HEAVY COATS! New red sneakers. And...smiling, bright, joyful ones.

This was very exciting for me to see. Ayden's first family drawing! He even added Quinn's hair that points straight up in the back. 

Sadly there was not much eating around here this week due to stomach bugs that hit both myself and Ayden, so I took something I made last week and posted it for this Wednesday's open art space blog. Here is a couscous medley with sauteed mushrooms in butter, broccoli in olive oil, chick peas, and seasonings to taste. Again, another meal the entire family enjoyed, which is very rare in this household. 

2 more snow days...means finding lots of activities. As I was skimming a magazine last night I came upon a recipe for banana bread muffins, and I thought what a nice option as a creative activity for me and the boys. I already had my own delicious recipe that I love to use from my sister called bababanana bread. I checked my kitchen this morning and we had all the ingredients. Perfect! So the boys and I decided today would be the perfect day to make these yummy treats. And...Ayden has a new apron to wear (as shown in photos) for all the baking and cooking we do together, made by our lovely and awesomely creative friend who you can find here. Below is the recipe for those interested: 

Grease pan and set oven to 350 degrees

Wisk together:
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Set aside

Use an electric mixer to beat:
2 large eggs
3/4 cups sugar

Add and mix at low speed until blended
4-5 ripe bananas
1/3 cup milk (or buttermilk)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
11/2 tsp. vanilla

Add the first 6 dry ingredients and blend on a low speed
for added yumminess...2/3 cups of walnut or chocolate chips
 Put in prepared pan for about 20 minutes.
ENJOY!