when kenny and i worked together in town, we frequented the very close restaurants nearby for lunch. one of our favorite dishes at a local middle eastern eatery was this salad and we’ve tried to make it ourselves several times. i think last night’s version was the closest yet, so i’m writing it down and sharing it with you!

Chickpea and Tomato Salad

1 16-oz can chick peas, drained

1/2 white onion cut into chunks (larger than minced..a little bit larger than diced)

2 tomatoes, stripped of seeds, diced

4 T. tahini

2 T plain yogurt

1 T olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

salt, pepper

In a small bowl, mix tahini, yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice until a thin, runny-ish consistency (we’ve found that if the tahini is thick, you’ll need to add more yogurt and/or olive oil until it’s thin…just play around with the levels of ingredients).  Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a larger bowl, toss diced tomatoes, onion, and chick peas. Pour tahini sauce over top and serve!

This weekend, we returned (semi-) relaxed from a fabulous beach vacation. It was the first beach vacation we had as a family and was the highlight of our summer!

This was our beach. We had the perfect location as our beach access was private and our house on a cul-de-sac. We loved being able to keep an eye on our kids so easily as they were pretty much the only ones running around our umbrellas and to the water in front of us.

The boys didn’t sit still once when they were at the beach. We arrived at the beach mid-morning, stayed until lunch, walked back to rinse off, shower, hot tub (the kids all loved the hot tub – they all got in for about 5 minutes after their outdoor showering from the beach) and eat lunch. We’d return to the beach in the afternoon for a few hours and then return home to again, shower, rinse, hot tub and then happy hour!

After a very busy day of kid-watching at the beach, walking back and forth to the house in North Carolina heat (LOVED IT!), showering and cleaning and dressing the kids three times…the grown-ups were ready to relax. So as the coals were readying on the grill, or water heating up on the stove, the kids were given a snack and allowed to watch some cartoons while the adults kicked up their feet. By Thursday evening, we looked forward to this time of day the most!

This picture didn’t make it into my facebook photos. It’s their natural posing. I should frame this one for our wall.

We had near-perfect weather: High 80s, plenty of sunshine, only one day of rain, and mild winds (after the first day). The water was warm but the waves and tide were strong. Since returning, we’ve learned that this past week at the Outer Banks was one of the busiest for the lifeguards!

I am so thankful for this week we had to spend at the beach as a family and with other families. I’m so thankful we had all summer to look forward to it, and now a full week to get ready for school to begin in earnest.

do you remember this picture?

well…we think that one or two of our chicks believe that violet is “mom.”

there are one or two chicks who refuse to go into the to coop at night and instead hang out with violet grazing. we believe that she roosts in the barn, near violet.

this picture was taken this morning, before the chicks were let out of the coop. obviously that chick spent the night outside the coop. with the sheep.

i wonder if she’ll bawk or bleat?

maybe its because i’m getting older. perhaps its because i’m reading a lot lately about how this country came to be…but i have become a huge fan of the Good Old American 4th of July.

we were able to enjoy two fireworks displays this year – two days in a  row – which was HUGE for the boys. they love the colorful displays of larger-than-life sparks in the sky and kenny and i love watching them more than watching the fireworks.

when we returned home from a picnic at a friend’s house on sunday, i watched the PBS special in Washington and couldn’t get enough of the bands playing patriotic songs while even more fireworks burst across the television screen. even though it was 10:45 pm, the boys watched with us.

the celebration of our country’s independence should be a huge celebration. don’t all countries have the right to celebrate themselves? i used to cringe when i heard the phrase, “God Bless America” because i didn’t think it was appropriate to only ask God’s blessing on one country. after all, aren’t all humans created in God’s image? why can’t we request His blessing on all of us? why can’t we sing “God bless the World”? i didn’t understand the connection between God and country before now. now, i see the connection all over – in our freedoms to be human and not stifled. just as God designed us. i’ll say it again…shouldn’t all countries have the right to openly celebrate their heritage? why then, is it unpopular in so many circles, IN AMERICA, to celebrate us? i can only speak from experience…perhaps they just don’t understand why we’re celebrating.

i used to shy away from patriotism…now i embrace it. if patriotism offends you…why?

~~~~~

here is a cute web site that offers information and tons of activities for celebrating the 4th of July in your home.

have you noticed the new line of clothing for women at Target designed by Liberty of London? i admit, i’m drawn to the fancy-schmancy designs and the vibrant colors.

unfortunately, my husband is not and thinks their clothing is better suited for 70-year-olds whose closet is full of muumuus.

fortunately, i just saw on purlsoho.com that you can purchase fabric designed by them!

unfortunately, the price tag of $35/yard inhibites me from making my own swanky little dress that my husband will just see as a muumuu.

maybe that’s fortunate.

for more quick takes, visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary!

1. after several chiropractor adjustments over a two-week period, adam woke up with a  fever monday morning that lasted all day and into the night. by tuesday morning, he was fever-free.  we’ve since stopped treating fevers. in other words, we don’t use motrin or tylenol anymore when our kids spike a fever. we do everything else possible to make sure they’re comfortable and that their body is resting. i’ve learned a lot lately about treating illnesses naturally since the four rounds of antibiotics, i believe, did more harm than good to adam’s immune system! he has not had another ear infection since treating it with chiropractic and other natural means (garlic and mullein drops for ears, i used it on my ear after it clogged from swimming two days ago and it really helped unclog it! we’re also considering ear candling if adam complains of ear pain again).

2. I’ve vowed never to put wallpaper up in my home. EVER. Until today. I saw a home with an entryway just like ours and thought that it looked really tasteful and not at all tacky. It all depends on the print, I think. I think I’ll consider wallpaper for our entryway as long as we can find a nice print that compliments the red sitting/living room. Victorian style, of course.

3. Our furnace started smoking on Father’s Day. It was a few scary moments of electrical burning smell and smoke in the dining room until we figured out what the problem was. We’ve since discovered it’s a burned out motor on our furnace, which means that our central air is off as well. We need to decide whether to get a new motor on an old furnace, or a brand new furnace. Of course, it happens on the hottest, muggiest week of the year so far!  I can deal with it. Central Air is not a necessity.

4. One hot day this week, after sweating all day, we decided to go swimming once Kenny was done with work. it was GLORIOUS. We arrived just as all the day camsp were letting out, so it wasn’t crowded at all. All three boys loved the twisty slide and since it’s life-guarded very well, Kenny and I just treaded water and hung out at the bottom of the slide while the boys went over and over and over. It was a great way to end a hot day. We came home and grilled dinner – fairly late into the evening. It was a perfect summer day.

5. LOVE. Kenny and I have all but eliminated white sugar and white flour (and pasta and rice) from our diets. But from time to time, we treat ourselves to this.  MMMMMM….. the sea salt is our favorite, the black currant is delicious, and the chili chocolate is an experience!

6. we have an appointment this afternoon to have our family photo taken for our church directory. i’m wondering just where my head was when i made this appointment time. do you know how hard it’s going to be to keep the boys from looking like they’ve been running around outside all day, through the sprinkler, and through a poopy pasture? seriously, what was i thinking???  maybe we should all go in our farmer grubbies.

7. have i mentioned how much i am loving the summer???

the book started out comfortably – like a big comfy sweatshirt on a cool day. then i got a bit confused with all the disjointed stories until i (quickly) realized that olive kitteridge was a character in all of them.

i was never very comfortable with olive…she seemed to be the type of character who created “elephant in the room” moments, so i never felt more than just comfortable with the book. i never fell in love with any of the characters (except maybe olive’s husband, henry, who was just a dear), and i certainly wasn’t intrigued by the ongoing storyline (it being interupted with new characters and new stories with each chapter).

and then came the ending where olive’s ugly political side shown brightly. not only did the author (elizabeth strout) inject this character’s ugly political side once, but several times towards the end and she just lost me.

right now, i’m looking for fiction to take me out of the negatively political environment that we’re curently in in this country. i don’t need to be reminded of it while i read a fictional world. the current events of The Help were the main threads of the story, and it wasn’t our current world. and it wasn’t an author’s obvious intent of injecting a political view into her fictional characters.

the actual writing was very good. strout is a very good wordsmith. her stories were interesting, so she’s a good storyteller. but her style is not mine, so i can’t overtly recommend Olive Kitteridge to anyone.

on a side note, this book and the one i’m reading currently (see below) have both mentioned 9/11 in the storyline. i wonder how many authors have mentioned it as part of their story lines  since 2001?

~~~

next up…Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian. It’s a thick, dense, beautiful writing kind of book and I’ve immediately been drawn into the story and the characters. I love these kinds of books!

we do one big birthday party a year, since all three boys have a birthday in the summer months, and we think it’s best to not give a huge birthday party every single year for the kids. but i can save that subject for a whole ‘nother post.

any way, we had a modest family party last night and i went all out to make adam understand how special he is even though we didn’t have a huge party (see? i’m already going off….) by making this cake that he requested after seeing it on an ad on my laptop whilst i was browsing recipes at allrecipes.com.

i’m not a great cake decorator. i don’t really enjoy it, but i love watching how much my kids delight in something so special to them.

it’s adam’s FOURTH birthday today. he’s been with us for a whole four years and 9 1/2 months, and i’m just slammed with emotion over it today.

when rowan turned one, i was a blubbering fool remembering every last detail of his birth. but i thought it was because i was 8 months pregnant with sawyer. but this year, i’m finding myself just as emotional over the details of adam’s birth, specifically his brothers’ reaction to his birth, and their very young ages.

as i look at my 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old boys today, i am amazed that they were every babies or toddlers, making our lives incredibly busy. and now?  we have three boys who spend their days hanging out in the pasture, actually doing chores! where are my toddling babies asking for milk in  a sippy cup?

i’m thankful every day for their lives, and the gift i’ve been given of mothering them.

happy 4th birthday adam henry! we love you like crazy!

this morning it was supposed to be thunder-showering. it wasn’t. it was sunny and warm. hot, even in the sun at 8:30 a.m., so sawyer and i headed to his soccer game while rowan still slept and adam was running circles around the house.

it was the last game of the season and we’re glad we went to say goodbye to teammates (we’re starting to get to know the team members, and as the kids get older, i’m going to become really nostalgic by the end of the season, i just know it), thank the coaches, and look forward to relaxing on saturday mornings again.

kenny showed up a bit later with rowan and adam for rowan’s game and i took sawyer and adam home. it’s how we do saturday mornings. next year, we’ll be adding another game to the mix (adam will be older enough to play, and he’s counting down the days!), so it might prove to be crazier!

kenny and rowan returned home a little later, rowan proudly touting his little trophy that his coach gives the team at the end of every season. kenny said it was a hard game, but he noticed rowan wasn’t himself.

it was still sunny and warm outside.

then rowan started telling me that his chest hurt everytime he breathed in. and it continued to get worse as his eye would swell with tears as he tried to breathe. my midn played back over the past few days…the high fever he fought off with chills tuesday night, the low-grade fever he slept off wednesday, and thursday and friday being completely normal again. we decided to take him into the ER and it’s a good thing as it turned out it was pneumonia in both lungs.

as they returned the clouds finally began to roll in. we were meant to have dinner at friends’ house tonight – a dinner that was planned well over two months ago due to busy schedules and already-full weekends.

instead, our boys sit in front of videos (as the doctor said he shouldn’t run around too much…i just find this ironic as he ran around all morning all over the soccer fields), kenny and i scrounge for food that can pass as dinner for all of us, and we’ll probably all turn in before 9:30.

now THAT’s a good thing.